London’s transport system will be crippled for 72 hours from Sunday April 6 after rail unions announced an Underground strike today.

The RMT union said its station staff and train operator members had voted for three days of transport chaos by a margin of five to one because of perceived management attacks on safety standards.

The strike will begin at 6.30pm on April 6 and last until Wednesday evening.

Areas in which the unions are in dispute include ticket office closures, staffing levels and the manning of the new Heathrow Terminal 5 Tube station “with staff subcontracted from other firms but wearing Underground uniforms”.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today: “Each of these issues is serious in its own right, but together they amount to a fundamental and unacceptable attack on staffing across the network, putting our members’ and passengers’ safety at risk.

“Tube workers will not stand idly by while the security of the network is compromised by managers who clearly believe that staff and passenger safety can be looked after on the cheap.”

The RMT vote results yesterday cleared the way for joint action with Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA), whose own members voted for action earlier this month.

TSSA general secretary Gerry Doherty said: “This is a dispute about the safety of our Tube system. The last people we want to hit are the travelling public but this seems to be the only way we can make LU [London Underground] listen.

“We have been trying to make them understand for months that we will not allow safety standards to be lowered by the use of agency staff. Even at this late stage, we want a negotiated settlement and remain ready to talk next week to achieve one.”

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