Britain's largest specialist transport trade union, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union (RMT) has warned administrators for failed UK tube consortium Metronet that any attempt made to cut jobs, pay or conditions, or to forcibly transfer staff would lead to an industrial dispute.
UK tube consortium Metronet Rail announced yesterday it had gone into Public Private Partnership (PPP) administration – including partners and directors of accountants Ernst & Young.
In a statement, the RMT said: "During today's meeting the threat to impose 691 managerial redundancies on August 20 was suspended after we threatened to move into dispute."
"We also informed the administrator that the union would be demanding that infrastructure work would now remain in-house with staff employed directly by Transport for London."
In a separate strike dispute, 150 RMT train operators and station staff who work on London Underground's Bakerloo line will strike from 10pm tonight after talks failed to resolve a dispute by a staff member.
The RMT says its members returned a 94.5% vote in favour of strike action after tube bosses moved to impose changes under which station staff were expected to detrain passengers at stations north of Queen's Park station while working alone.
"We have already told London Underground that reducing station staff at Queen's Park, Willesden Junction and Harrow and Wealdstone will undermine the safety of our members and is unacceptable," RMT General Secretary Bob Crow says.
Yesterday Metronet said that all staff should continue to undertake their responsibilities and that they would be paid normally, adding that all essential maintenance and safety work would be undertaken as normal.
By staff writer
