THE London Underground could be faced with a crippling strike as 10,000 rail staff begin a two-week ballot for industrial action. Britain’s biggest rail union has started re-balloting members in disputes over jobs, pay and breaches of agreements

By Mike Brooke

THE London Underground could be faced with a crippling strike as 10,000 rail staff begin a two-week ballot for industrial action.

Britain’s biggest rail union has begun re-balloting its members on the Underground and at Transport for London itself in separate disputes over jobs, pay and breaches of agreements.

The RMT is rerunning last month’s ballots which returned five-to-one votes for industrial action after they were challenged in the courts by City Hall transport bosses.

It accused London Underground of “diversionary tactics” by going to court and says a five-year pay freeze is unacceptable.

The two-week rerun, part of the union’s campaign to save 3,000 jobs, closes next Thursday.