TUBE UNION RMT today announced strike dates on Tube Lines over the failure of TfL and the company to give concrete assurances on jobs, pay and working conditions.

Members will not book on for any shift commencing between 19.00 hours on Wednesday 23rd June 2010 and 18.59 on Friday 25th June 2010 and between 19.00 hours on Wednesday 14th July and 18.59 hours on Friday 16th July.

RMT is giving Londoners early warning that this Tube Lines strike – following a nine to one vote for action – will have severe consequences, not just on the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee Lines but across the whole tube network as the Emergency Response Unit, dealing with urgent repairs that keep the system running, is run by Tube Lines on behalf of the whole of London Underground.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said today:

“We have given TfL, and their newly-acquired subsidiary Tube Lines, plenty of opportunity to give us assurances that staff won’t take the hit for the failure of the doomed privatisation project. They have failed to give us those assurances leaving us with absolutely no option but to announce these strike dates to protect both our members and the safety of the travelling public

If the shareholders of Tube Lines, who failed miserably to meet the terms of their agreement, can walk away with £310 million of Londoners cash in a “golden-goodbye”, after milking the contract for every penny, why should our members be expected to take a kick in the teeth on jobs, pay and working conditions?

“We are already seeing clear signs that maintenance schedules on Tube Lines are being hacked to the bone and that situation will only deteriorate, with dire consequences for the travelling public, if more jobs are axed. We issued documents this week proving that some repairs, including split and rotten sleepers, are already being delayed by well over three years. That is a grim situation reflecting a current lack of staff and resources and will only worsen as the cuts roll on with dangerous consequences for Londoners.

“The fact that Tube Lines have made an inferior pay offer to RMT than the one that’s on the table for other unions was always going to be a recipe for industrial relations chaos. I would urge TfL/Tube Lines, even at this late stage, to get back around the table and give us the perfectly reasonable assurances that we are seeking.”