RMT members returned a 94.5 per cent vote in favour of strike action after Tube bosses attempted to impose changes under which station staff were expected to detrain passengers at stations north of Queen’s Park while working alone.

“We have made it clear to London Underground that their plans to reduce station staff at Queen’s Park, Willesden Junction and Harrow and Wealdstone will compromise the safety of our members and are unacceptable,” RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said today.

“Having a minimum of two station staff involved in detraining passengers is not a luxury, it is a necessity, not least given the levels of crime at the stations concerned.

“We are not prepared to sit back and watch London Underground reduce standards of station staffing and force more and more staff to run the risk of assault, and our members have voted by an overwhelming margin to take action.

“We have tried to get London Underground to withdraw these proposals and to talk about the issues involved, but so far they have not listened, and as a result the RMT executive has called a 24-hour strike which will begin at 22:00 on Thursday July 19.

“We are ready to talk, but our first duty is to the safety of our members and that is the key issue of principle involved in this dispute,” Bob Crow said.