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| Tube strike ballot over job cuts | Tube strike ballot over job cuts |
| (41 minutes later) | |
| About 10,000 London Underground workers will vote over strike action in a pay and job cuts dispute, the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has said. | About 10,000 London Underground workers will vote over strike action in a pay and job cuts dispute, the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) has said. |
| London Underground (LU) has said 1,000 jobs will be lost at the firm and several hundred more are likely to be axed at Transport for London (TfL). | |
| The RMT claims up to 3,000 jobs are at risk in total. | The RMT claims up to 3,000 jobs are at risk in total. |
| TfL said it was "disappointed" with plans for the strike ballot as it will "not resolve these separate issues". | TfL said it was "disappointed" with plans for the strike ballot as it will "not resolve these separate issues". |
| Workers, including drivers and station staff, will begin voting from Tuesday and the ballots will close on 8 April. | |
| The expected job losses come after Tube maintenance work was brought in-house following the collapse of Metronet. | The expected job losses come after Tube maintenance work was brought in-house following the collapse of Metronet. |
| TfL said many posts under threat were jobs that were duplicated as a result of the merger. | TfL said many posts under threat were jobs that were duplicated as a result of the merger. |
| 'Simply unacceptable' | 'Simply unacceptable' |
| The RMT wants TfL to withdraw the threat of compulsory redundancies, which they said was a part of TfL's plan to to save £2.4bn. | |
| The RMT's general secretary Bob Crow said: "London Underground seems to think that observing agreements is optional and its plan to cut jobs is simply unacceptable. | The RMT's general secretary Bob Crow said: "London Underground seems to think that observing agreements is optional and its plan to cut jobs is simply unacceptable. |
| "After three months of stonewalling LU has also tabled what is at best a five-year pay freeze - which it knows full well could never be accepted - and its managers appear to have been given the nod to unleash a fresh round of bullying." | "After three months of stonewalling LU has also tabled what is at best a five-year pay freeze - which it knows full well could never be accepted - and its managers appear to have been given the nod to unleash a fresh round of bullying." |
| It will do absolutely no good to hard-pressed commuters to have a strike in difficult economic times Boris Johnson, London's mayor | |
| A TfL spokesman said: "We are disappointed that the RMT is planning a ballot for industrial action, as it will not resolve these separate issues." | |
| On a pay freeze he said: "We seek a further fair and affordable long-term agreement that seeks to provide stability for our staff in a period of great financial uncertainty." | |
| He added: "Across TfL, we are conducting a review of costs... Where a reduction in jobs is necessary, we will seek to avoid compulsory redundancies." | |
| The spokesman said the job losses will have "no impact" on Tube services as frontline staff working on trains and stations and maintenance staff were not affected. | The spokesman said the job losses will have "no impact" on Tube services as frontline staff working on trains and stations and maintenance staff were not affected. |
| London Mayor Boris Johnson said: "It will do absolutely no good to hard-pressed commuters to have a strike in difficult economic times." |