London
Underground (LU) train drivers are to stage strikes on Christmas Eve and New
Year’s Eve after the firm refused to reinstate a tube driver, who was sacked
after being caught playing squash while off sick.
The
action will affect services on the Circle and Hammersmith and City lines, and
comes after LU refused to re-open the case or to discuss the dispute with Acas.
The
driver was fired after investigators saw him coming out of his squash club
while off work with an ankle injury.
RMT
general secretary Bob Crow said LU had failed to apply its disciplinary
procedures in an even-handed, transparent and consistent way.
"We
have been promised a new era of industrial relations on London Underground, but
we have seen precious little evidence of that happening," he said.
