Transport union bosses have urged London mayor Boris Johnson to put off his trip to the Tory party conference next week and stay home to resolve the Tube strike crisis.
Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) members look set to walk out for 24 hours this Sunday at 7pm after Acas talks failed to calm unrest about 800 job losses.
While Johnson has been explaining London Transport contingency plans, union leader Gerry Doherty used the platform to say that he thought the mayor was more interested in upstaging the prime minister at the Birmingham conference than helping out Londoners.
He said: "Boris seems determined to steal the show from David Cameron next week with a bout of union-bashing to cheer up delegates attending the Tory conference.
"Even at this late hour, we would urge him to stop playing to the gallery and enter into urgent talks to resolve this dispute before Sunday evening.
If the strikes goes ahead, 100 extra buses, will be laid on plus more boats allowing 10,000 more journeys on the Thames. Roadwork plans will be cancelled and there will be marshalled taxi ranks.
by Dinah Hatch
