The motion was moved by Councillor Daniel Holden and seconded by Councillor David Dean. It was noted as part of moving the motion a minor oral amendment (as published in advance of the meeting) was made.

The Labour amendment, as set out in agenda item 17 was moved by Councillor Andrew Judge and seconded by Councillor Tobin Byers.

Councillor Mary Jane Jeanes also spoke on the item.

The Labour amendment was then put to the vote and was carried – votes in favour 36, and votes against 20 with 4 abstentions.

The substantive resolution was then agreed.

RESOLVED

This council notes the importance of good quality public transport systems to support Merton’s economy.  Tens of thousands of Merton residents use tube, train and bus services to get to work each day and investment in transport is key to the sustainable economic growth of our borough.  Council therefore welcomes the plans for Crossrail 2, with a proposed key station in Wimbledon.

Council acknowledges that the construction period will inevitably cause some disruption to the town centre and welcomes the consultation with local people on how this is managed which is planned by Crossrail.

Wimbledon is the economic hub of the borough, with half of Merton’s jobs and nearly all the borough’s office based employment.  It is therefore imperative that the construction is phased in such a way that the existing businesses in the town centre are retained and that the impact on local people and businesses is minimised as far as possible.

This Council regrets the Mayor of London’s loss of control over industrial relations at Transport for London, for which he is responsible, and condemns the considerable inconvenience caused to residents in Merton by the series of Tube and rail strikes that took place over the summer as a result of his failure. Unnecessary strike action that could have been averted by the Mayor by all four unions representing tube workers, namely ASLEF (representing mainly train drivers), TSSA (representing mainly ticket office staff), Unite and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) has caused huge travel disruption for the thousands of Merton residents who rely daily on services such as the Northern and District lines to commute into central London from our borough.  This council condemns the Mayor of London for his inability to address the safety concerns of Tube workers and notes that that despite being elected on a pledge to "deal once and for all with endless Tube strikes" in the capital, strikes have actually increased under his administration. This Council pays tribute to all those people in Merton affected by the strikes, including many council employees, for their resilience and determination to get to work using alternative methods of travel. This Council remains concerned however about the significant cost to the local economy of the Mayor’s failure to manage industrial relations and recognises the considerable frustration felt not only by commuters but also by the borough’s businesses as a result of lost revenue.

This Council also notes that the planned new Night Tube service is well supported by residents and businesses across Merton as part of London Underground’s work to modernise transport in the capital, although residents want to be assured that the service will be safe and secure, with sufficient staff presence to deal with any concerns late at night. Journey times are due to be reduced by an average of 20 minutes, with some journeys cut by more than an hour whilst the Night Tube is set to support around 2,000 permanent jobs and boost the London economy by £360 million. Council therefore regrets that the Mayor of London has failed to introduce the service this month – including on the Northern line -which has been delayed due to his failure to manage industrial relations.

Whilst welcoming the ongoing talks aimed at resolving the disputes, this Council regrets that the Mayor of London has failed to take action to ensure no further  Tube and rail strikes which would cause further disruption to the borough’s residents and businesses. Council therefore resolves to urge the Mayor of London to focus on the safety concerns of residents and workers and ensure safe and secure night tube services can be implemented as soon as possible, and notes the Government’s undemocratic Trade Union Bill which bars working people from exercising their human right to withdraw their labour in exceptional circumstances, without achieving a mandate far in excess of the mandate given to most Councillors and MPs and whilst also not allowing the use of electronic voting which would increase democratic participation.  The Bill also allows employers to bring in agency workers to cover striking workers’ jobs, potentially impacting on the safety and quality of services normally provided by trained and qualified staff.

Council also calls on Crossrail to ensure that the economic sustainability of Wimbledon as the borough’s economic hub is maintained over the period of Crossrail 2’s construction and that the inconvenience to residents is minimised.  Council resolves to ask the Leader and the Cabinet Member to seek to ensure the Crossrail team are fully aware of the council’s position on the importance of this issue and of Wimbledon’s contribution to the economy of South West London.