RMT and TSSA members are today on strike over plans to close all of the Tube’s ticket offices and sack almost 1,000 workers.

They began their strike action at 9pm yesterday, and will continue until 9pm tomorrow. Their action comes after Mayor of London Boris Johnson refused to meet them yesterday, despite general secretaries Bob Crow and Manuel Cortes visiting City Hall.

A Survation poll of Tube users yesterday showed 65% of  passengers believe strike action against the Mayor’s plans to close ticket offices is justified, with 87% believing Boris should speak directly with the unions to prevent strike action. The survey also found continued opposition to the Mayor’s cuts.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: ”No-one wants the disruption of strike action but this polling shows that the public understand that when a union is pushed into a corner with a gun at its head it is justified in taking the action RMT and TSSA are forced to take to defend jobs, safety and services.

“The mayor and his officials should take note of this survey, withdraw the notice threatening jobs, thereby allowing us to suspend the action to allow further talks from a clean slate and away from the pressure cooker. “