The ballot will open on March 14 and close on March 28, and could result in strike action that would close at least two-thirds of the Tube network.

The union has already once prevented the mass transfer of staff to Bombardier, Metronet's major shareholder, after a strike ballot more than a year ago.

Under the agreement that ended that dispute, Metronet agreed that it would not transfer employees without agreement with RMT, but despite further talks the company has signalled that it is to renege on the deal.

"We have managed to protect and improve our members' pay and conditions within Metronet, and we are not about to allow the consortium to trample on them by simply tearing up agreements," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"Forcing our members to transfer is about maximising profits and dividing and undermining our members' organisation, pay and conditions.

"But it also means forcing even more fragmentation on a network that has already seen its safety culture undermined by the disastrous PPP.

"If Metronet get away with this it will only be a matter of time before the entire workforce is transferred to Bombardier, Balfour Beatty, W S Atkins and EDF, the four companies that make up the Metronet consortium.

"That would leave Metronet Rail as nothing more than an overpaid contracts controller, and would see our members' pay and conditions taken apart by companies that care for nothing but the size of their dividend.

"The unity of RMT members within Metronet has ensured that pay and conditions have been improved year on year despite the PPP, and allowing them to be decimated is not an option," Bob Crow said.

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U.K. Rail Union May Strike Against Tube Contractor Metronet

Bloomberg: March 9, 2007
By Brian Lysaght

The Rail, Maritime & Transport union said 2,000 employees of Metronet Rail Group, the largest contractor on the London Underground, will vote on whether to strike in a dispute over jobs.

The vote will run through March 28, and a strike would shut down two-thirds of the London railway known as the Tube, the union said in an e-mailed statement today.

Metronet is considering transferring employees to other companies in violation of an agreement with the union, according to the RMT.

``Forcing our members to transfer is about maximizing profit and dividing and undermining our members' organization, pay and conditions,'' Bob Crow, secretary general of the RMT, said in a statement.

The union last month called off a planned strike on the London Underground after reaching an agreement with the railway. That agreement, which covers a different set of workers, is being voted on by members.

The Tube carries 3 million riders each weekday. Metronet is one of two contractors awarded 30-year agreements to maintain and invest in upgrades for the railway.

Metronet ``regrets'' the RMT's decision to vote on a strike ``especially when discussions are ongoing to find an acceptable solution,'' the company said in an e-mailed statement.

The company is jointly owned by WS Atkins Plc, Balfour Beatty, Bombardier, EDF Energy SA and Thames Water. It said the transfer of workers is part of a plan to shift train maintenance to Bombardier.