Tube Lines, which is set to be nationalised by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, had asked the High Court to declare the strike illegal, a request denied by Mr Justice Tugendhat.
The union says the 48-hour strike, which is to be followed by another next months, is necessary following “the failure of TfL and the company to give concrete assurances on jobs, pay and working conditions.”
The strike will run from 19.00 today until 18:59hrs on Friday 25 June.
The company say workers have been offered “a pay increase of 3.7% in the first year backdated to 1 April 2010 plus 0.5% subject to agreeing productivity changes.”
Earlier this month RMT General Secretary Bob Crow called on Mayor Johnson “to show some real leadership” and hold direct talks with the union. Despite their imminent takeover of Tube Lines, the Mayor’s office and Transport for London have declined to enter discussions although they have called on the RMT to “enter proper dialogue with us after our acquisition of Tube Lines”.
During the 2008 Mayoral elections Johnson promised voters he would negotiate a no-strike deal with Tube unions.
After the Court’s decision was announced Tube Lines expressed hope that the union would “pull back” on the threatened strike action. Acting Chief Executive Andrew Cleaves said: “It is disappointing that the Court was unable to arrive at a decision to grant an injunction to halt the RMT strike action and we urge the RMT to pull back from taking this needless action which would unnecessarily inconvenience the travelling public.”
“We ask the RMT to return to the negotiating table and reconsider the pay offer we have made to its members.”
In a statement Transport for London said it did not expect “any significant impact to Tube services and London Underground intends to operate a full service on all Lines.”
