London workers face commuting hell at the end of this month after Tube staff announced a 48-hour weekday strike.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said its 2,500 members at failed Underground maintenance firm Metronet would walk out from 1030am on 28 April.
Union members voted four to one in favour of the strike in a bid to secure ‘unequivocal written guarantees’ on outsourcing, pensions and travel facilities.
Transport for London (TfL) said it was too early to speculate about how services may be disrupted, but a strike by Metronet workers last September affected 10 lines and closed two-thirds of the Tube network.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today: “Despite weeks of detailed talks and positive discussions with the mayor, we have still not won the unequivocal written guarantees we are seeking to protect our members’ interests.
“What we have received has been hedged, qualified and ambiguous, and the RMT executive was left with no choice but to set strike dates.”
However, TfL insited it had given the guarantees requested.
“A strike at Metronet is completely unnecessary and will not achieve anything,” said a spokeswoman. “The RMT has been given guarantees that no staff will lose jobs, pensions or be transferred as a result of Metronet’s collapse.”
A planned strike by London Underground workers earlier this month was called off at the last moment when unions received guarantees on a raft of safety and staffing issues.
