Crow warns of further stoppages

An end to the dispute seemed as far away today as ever as the RMT leader Bob Crow warned of further stoppages.

Mr Crow, on a "victory" tour of the picket lines, said: "I think we will be laying down more dates for industrial action."

He insisted there was "massive support" from the public over the union's decision to take strike action "to protect safety standards".

The RMT ordered the strike - which began at 8pm yesterday - in a long-running dispute over safety standards on the Tube as the system prepared for part-privatisation.

It ordered the strike in protest at a claimed "lack of consultation" by London Underground over plans to part privatise the system. The union says its safety representatives have not been consulted and essential documents have been withheld from the union.

All the unions say the proposed public-private partnership (PPP) is unsafe and point to the disasters which have occurred on the mainline railways since privatisation as proof of their claims.

LU strenuously denies this. It says negotiations have been taking place for the past three years and the unions have been included in the meetings.

Mike Strzelecki, LU director of safety, said: "PPP is safe or we would not be proceeding with it. Since this latest dispute began we have urged the RMT to settle matters around the table rather than on the picket line."

He said: "No other unions are on strike. There is a general acknowledgement that over three years consultation for PPP has been more than adequate."

The RMT says it wants another year "or until they are happy" to discuss safety issues. Management has offered eight weeks which the RMT says is not enough.

? Just after 8am today LU said it was, after all, able to run a handful of trains but not the full length of lines. The Victoria, Northern, Metropolitan East London and Jubilee lines have some trains running over limited distances.

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