Two days after crippling strike - a fresh threat of staff walkout on the Tube

Travel woe: commuters during this week's strike
REUTERS
Dick Murray11 January 2017

Hundreds of Tube engineers who maintain the train fleets, including Night Tube, are to be balloted for strike action in a new row over working conditions.

This is in addition to the dispute among station and ticket staff who took part in a 24-hour strike on Monday causing widespread disruption across the network.

A Transport for London spokesman said: “The RMT is balloting for unnecessary strike action, this time involving train maintenance staff, without seeking to resolve these issues with us.

“We urge the RMT to meet with us for talks rather than threatening needless strike action.”

The RMT union claim London Underground (LU) has broken a number of agreements including failing to recruit additional staff for the extra work covering Night Tube operations.

Mick Cash, the RMT leader, said: “LU management has gone back on agreements over the Night Tube and staffing levels and actively attack our Reps for carrying out union duties.

“RMT members and the union will not stand by while an intransigent management attempts to ride roughshod over Tube workers. That is why we are balloting our fleet staff members for industrial action.”

Tube strike chaos

1/17

Leaders of the TSSA union, which together with the RMT ordered Monday’s walkout, meet tomorrow to decide whether to order further strike action in the long-running dispute over jobs.

The strike was in protest over the axing of 900 jobs and the closing of all ticket offices under former Mayor Boris Johnson’s regime to save cash.

Meanwhile, Unite members at BA today continued their 48-hour stoppage in a dispute over pay.

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