THE TUBE’S biggest union today declared an overwhelming mandate for strike action in ballots of members across London Underground and Transport for London in two separate disputes centred on jobs, pay and working conditions.

On London Underground the result was 2810 for strike action and 488 against. On TfL the result was 60 in favour and 15 against. Separate ballots on action short of a strike showed even higher numbers in favour.

RMT have announced strike action which will commence at 18.59 hours on Tuesday 9th June through to 18.58 hours on Thursday 11th June 2009.

RMT have accused London Underground and TfL of deliberately provoking the dispute

On London Underground, bosses are threatening to tear up an agreement aimed at safeguarding jobs, and has refused to rule out compulsory redundancies. 3000 jobs are at risk.

LUL has also refused to budge from an unacceptable five-year pay offer that gives no real-terms increase for four years, and which could even see pay cut, and there have been so many complaints of breaches of disciplinary and attendance procedures they appear co-ordinated.

TfL is also threatening compulsory redundancies as part of a £2.4 billion cuts package.

“This is a magnificent result which underlines the anger that has been provoked by management in their confrontational approach on pay and job security. London Underground seems to think that observing agreements is optional, and its plan to cut jobs is simply unacceptable,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“After months of stonewalling LUL has also tabled what is at best a five-year pay freeze which it knows full well could never be accepted, and its managers appear to have been given the nod to unleash a fresh round of bullying.

“We said from the start that our members, whether in LUL or TfL, would not be made to pay for the failure and greed of bankers and privateers, and that any attempt to impose compulsory redundancies would be met with a ballot for industrial action.

“If LUL and TfL want to avoid confrontation they should start talking seriously about pay, withdraw their plans to slash jobs, guarantee there will be no forced redundancies and call off the bully managers,” Bob Crow said.

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