Unions warn about new London transport chief

By Avril Ormsby

LONDON (Reuters) - Unions have warned of a potential showdown with Mayor of London Boris Johnson if his preferred choice for transport chief, private equity executive Tim Parker, gets the go-ahead.

Parker, who has been chief executive at motoring group the AA, car-repair company Kwik-Fit and shoemaker Clarks, has been nominated chairman of Transport for London (TfL).

But unions, fearful of his reputation for ruthless cost-cutting, said they would take action if jobs or services were threatened on the city's buses and train systems.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), which represents London Underground drivers and station staff, said if Parker was appointed he should "leave his asset-stripping reputation at the door".

"Tim Parker has a reputation as a private-equity asset-stripper and has been dubbed the Prince of Darkness by unions that have encountered his methods in the past," RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said in a statement.

"We are well aware of his track record, and Mr Parker has the opportunity to leave that reputation behind him when he starts work for the Mayor of London."

Crow warned that the union, which held a Tube strike last September over job loss concerns and organised a planned strike last month, would defend its members in the face of any future cuts to jobs, working conditions and interests.

"The world's finest metro system does not need an asset-stripper or a Prince of Darkness, but it does need its modernisation programme," he added.