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Hundreds of jobs could go at London Underground (LU), according to the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.

The RMT claims to have seen an internal LU management report entitled "Minimum Staffing Levels" which reveals plans to cut staff at 70 Tube stations. The union said the proposals would "devastate Tube safety".
Transport for London (TfL) says the RMT is "scaremongering" and it has no plans to reduce staffing below safe levels.

The union said the report would cut posts at sub-surface Tube stations, with 70 out of 116 stations reduced to a minimum level of just two staff with the remaining 46 stations still to be assessed. The RMT said minimum staffing levels were first introduced after the King's Cross fire in 1987 in which 31 died.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: "Despite all the election promises from [London Mayor] Boris Johnson that he would not cut back on operational staff and ticket offices, the truth of what is going on behind closed doors at LU and TfL is starting to emerge and it is clear that the cash-saving measures under discussion would devastate Tube safety. The RMT is committed to fighting these plans and we will continue to alert the London travelling public and Tube workers to the scale of the attack that is being cooked up for the capital's transport system in secret meetings."

A Transport for London spokesman said no decision has been made, adding: "This is yet more scaremongering by the RMT's leadership. We have no plans to reduce staffing below safe levels. We have consistently made clear our commitment to keep all of our stations staffed throughout the day and stations will always be staffed to ensure passenger safety and the highest standards of customer service. As we've said before, given the need to adapt as the Tube upgrades are delivered, and to ensure value for money, we are looking at how we can be best organised to provide that service."

London Underground to axe up to 800 jobs

London Underground (LU) is to axe up to 800 jobs under plans to make savings of ^16m a year, the company has announced.
Tube officials said the cuts would include 100 managers, 450 ticket office posts and up to 200 other jobs.
LU said it had completely ruled out compulsory redundancies and would look at re-deploying staff.
The company said a total of between 700 and 800 jobs would go but added that no Underground station ticket offices would shut.
LU's Managing Director Richard Parry said: "We've set out these proposals today because we want to work with our staff, trades unions, customers and key stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver the best customer service more efficiently. Our customers and staff should be assured that all of our stations will continue to be staffed at all times while trains are operating, and all stations with a ticket office will continue to have one."
LU said the proposals, including the job cuts, reflected the "huge success" of the pre-paid Oyster card, which now accounts for about 80% of Tube journeys.
Mr Parry said there had been a "sharp decline" in tickets sold at station ticket offices in recent years, with just one in 20 Tube journeys starting with a ticket office transaction.
LU have said a network of 4,000 ticket posts now exist at shops and retail outlets across London. There are also automatic top-ups and internet sales.
Unions have said the announcement confirmed suspicions they had for several weeks and accused London Mayor Boris Johnson of "betraying" passengers and staff.
Gerry Doherty, general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, said: "He was elected promising to keep ticket offices fully open and fully staffed. He has now broken that promise. We shall fight this all the way if any of our members are threatened with compulsory redundancy."
Bob Crow, general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT), said: "If these cuts to jobs are bulldozed through by Transport for London it will turn London's tube stations into a muggers' paradise."
A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: "London Underground is right in the current tough economic climate to take a hard look at its operations to ensure that they make the most of the people and resources they have. As safety is paramount and everyone wants to see customer service improve, the best place for the people LU has is among the travelling public - directing, assisting and reassuring them, not sitting incarcerated behind glass."

London mayor Boris Johnson a 'hypocrite' over Tube cuts

The London mayor has been branded a "hypocrite" by unions and attacked for "broken promises" over plans to axe Tube ticket office jobs.
Transport union TSSA said Boris Johnson was "elected on the promise to keep all stations open and fully staffed".
Tube bosses announced plans to axe up to 800 jobs last week, under measures to make savings of ^16m a year.
Mr Johnson, who heads Transport for London (TfL), said his record on delivering promises was "outstanding".
The TSSA said Mr Johnson plans to cut more than 2,000 hours from booking station opening times across the capital.
The union, which branded the mayor "hypocrite of the year", published a list of all 278 stations which it said would close earlier in the evenings and at the weekends under cuts planned by Mr Johnson.
TSSA leader Gerry Doherty said Mr Johnson "signed our petition in 2007 when Ken [Livingstone] was planning cuts at 40 stations and he was elected on the promise to keep all stations open and fully staffed. Now here he is in 2010 planning cuts six times those planned by Ken Livingstone [former London mayor]".
At Mayor's Question Time at City Hall in central London, Labour Assembly member Navin Shah said: "Boris Johnson misled Londoners when he told the assembly that no ticket offices will close under his programme of ticket office cuts."
Green Party Labour Assembly member Jenny Jones said: "Going back on his promise about staffing Tube stations properly isn't only about whether or not we can believe anything the mayor says in the future, but also about his making life less safe and more difficult for thousands of Londoners."
Last week, Tube officials said the post closures would include 100 managers, 450 ticket office posts and up to 200 other jobs.
However a TfL spokesman ruled out compulsory redundancies and said posts would be closed through not filling existing vacancies, voluntary redundancies and redeploying staff.
Mr Johnson said: "Our general record on delivering manifesto promises is outstanding and a tribute to the hard work of everyone who is working flat out to make life better for London."
Mayor of London transport advisor Kulveer Ranger said: "Every station with a ticket office will continue to have one.
"All stations will be staffed at all times when trains are running, and stations will feel safer by moving some staff out of the office and amongst the public."