London Underground maintenance staff will go on strike for 72 hours next Tuesday because of a row over pensions and benefits.
The Rail Maritime and Transport Workers union, which represents about 1,000 staff who work on the Tube Lines contracts, said that personnel had voted four to one in favour of industrial action, which will begin at 16.00 British Summer Time on 17 April.
The employees work on the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee lines and provide a number of services, including emergency repairs, across the entire network.
The row is over union demands that all Tube Lines’ staff be allowed to join owner Transport for London’s pension scheme, and receive the same travel concessions as London Underground workers.
RMT general secretary Bob Crow told the BBC: “This dispute is about justice and about ensuring that all groups of staff under the umbrella of LU receive the same rights and benefits, and our members have no choice but to strike to secure those basic rights.”
Tube Lines had refused to engage in “meaningful talks” or “to budge” and “that pig-headed approach has raised the temperature on the shop floor and has resulted in this strike action being called”, he added.
But Tube Lines’ operations director, Lee Jones, retorted: “We note that the outcome of the RMT’s ballot showed that less than 44% of its members voted in favour of strike action. We have been discussing this issue with our trade unions for some time, and we will continue to try to find a way forward through constructive discussion.”
