Tube strikes back on the agenda

Tube drivers' union the RMT has called strike dates later this month as part of the ongoing dispute over two sacked drivers on the Underground network. A tribunal last month found that driver Eamon Lynch had been unfairly dimissed, and proposed strikes were called off after Lynch's return to work. But dispute continues over a second driver, Arwyn Thomas, who is still awaiting reinstatement.

An interim tribunal held in January found that disciplinary charges made against the driver were unsupported. A full hearing was scheduled for May, but delays to the process and London Underground's refusal to reinstate the driver following the January hearing have left Thomas sitting at home since the start of the year.

RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said in a press statement,"RMT has made every possible effort to get Arwyn Thomas back to work and it is the intransigence of LU management, who have dragged their heels and failed to reach agreement over the past month, that has left us with no choice to put this strike action on."

"This is a clear cut case of victimisation and RMT calls on London Underground once again to stop the delaying tactics, and the continuing waste of hundreds of thousands of pounds that they have thrown at this case, and get Arwyn Thomas back to work."

A Transport for London spokesperson however called the proposed action "completely mystifying" and called on the RMT to wait for the outcome of the emplyment tribunal later this month.

The RMT has long maintained that charges against both drivers have ben manufactured in an attempt to harrass union members. Mr Crow added, "The massive vote for action by tube drivers in this dispute shows that they are well aware of the consequences of allowing our activists and safety reps to be picked off while we hear daily reports of breakdowns and failures on the network as a direct result of the very cuts that our members have been fighting."

Strikes have been called for the night of Sunday 19 June, followed by strike periods from 2101 on 27 June to1159 on 28 June, 1201 on 29 June to 1159 on 30 June, and 1201 to 2100 BST on 1 July. We'll keep an eye on the situation.