A 24-hour strike by drivers on two London Underground lines is to go ahead in early December.
The RMT union announced that its drivers on the Piccadilly and Hammersmith and City lines would walk out from the evening of Tuesday 6 December.
The strike – in two separate disputes over what the union terms a “wholesale breakdown in industrial relations”, alleging breaches of procedures and bullying and harassment of staff – will coincide with another strike on Southern rail.
With 400 Piccadilly line drivers belonging to the RMT, the move is likely to particularly affect services on that line, the fourth busiest on the tube network.
Steve Griffiths, London Underground’s chief operating officer, said: “We urge the RMT leadership to work with us constructively on the issues it has raised rather than disrupt our customers with strikes.
“The announcement of strike dates is premature given that we have pre-arranged talks planned at Acas tomorrow to discuss the RMT’s concerns on the Piccadilly line, and on the Hammersmith and City line we are waiting for the RMT’s response to our proposals to end that dispute.”
Only 43 drivers out of 265 on the Hammersmith and City line voted for strike action, as did just 168 out of 408 Piccadilly line drivers.
The RMT’s general secretary, Mick Cash, said the union remained available for talks in both disputes.
