Tube workers promise another strike (From Richmond and Twickenham Times)

Tube workers promise another strike

1:09pm Friday 18th April 2008 in News By Daniel Knowles

Tube maintenance workers are expected to strike for 48 hours from next Monday.

The RMT union says it had no option but to call the strike from 10.30am on Monday, April 28, after Transport for London (TfL) refused to guarantee the working conditions of members employed by failed contractor Metronet.

TfL is to takeover the running of maintenance on the District Line but RMT general secretary Bob Crow said workers feared being outsourced.

He said after a week of talks with Ken Livingstone, Tube bosses had still not guaranteed former Metronet workers would be allowed to join the TfL pension scheme and receive the same travel facilities as other TfL employees.

Mr Crow said RMT members voted more than four to one to strike.

"Despite weeks of detailed talks and positive discussions we have still not won the unequivocal written guarantees we are seeking to protect our members' interests," Mr Crow said.

"What we have received has been hedged, qualified and ambiguous, and the RMT executive was left with no choice but to set strike dates.

"Even at this stage the solution to this dispute remains a simple letter away.

"We have already made it clear that the collapse of Metronet should not be used as a Trojan horse for a two-tier workforce."