Tories may ban 'trivial' Tube strikes
A Tory government could ban Tube strikes triggered by "trivial" issues, according to Mayor Boris Johnson.
Commuters could be spared future chaos through new legislation to outlaw industrial action over matters such as individual disciplinary cases.
The RMT union faced claims last week that its two-day strike was caused in part by a dispute over two sacked drivers.
The Mayor hinted that he has talked to Transport Secretary Lord Adonis over the possibility of enforcing no-strike agreements with Underground workers in such cases.
Whitehall sources denied that any such discussions had taken place but Mr Johnson clearly plans to lobby a Cameron-led government to crack down on "spurious" disputes.
He told the Sunday Times that he favours a deal which would ban strikes for "comparatively trivial" reasons.
He would like to see an amendment to the terms and conditions of striking, "which would make it more difficult for public sector unions who are responsible for vital public services to take action".
He said: "The union made it clear it wasn't interested in a no-strike deal. So the only option would be to go for some regulatory solution.
"That is not going to be easy with the current government, although I have had some interesting conversations with the new transport secretary.
"With people who are on desperately low incomes who need to get to work, it was crackers of the RMT to take action in this particular climate."
