As Tube Lines' sad and frivolous attempt to get the strike banned failed to impress even the usually-compliant judiciary, it is full steam ahead for the strike starting tonight and lasting for 48 hours.
Tube Lines workers are solid in their support for the strike, and London Underground workmates have already started refusing to work on safety grounds. Keep this up, and we could well forced the doomed Infraco and owners - old and new! - to back down.
A reminder of the issues:
Job security - Tube Lines say that they can not guarantee jobs beyond TfL's takeover, which takes place next week! Funnily enough, the company can offer a three-year pay deal, so why not a three-year jobs guarantee!
Rostering framework - Management want the ability to impose anti-social rosters, including a big increase in weekend working. Although the talks have produced a set of words which is better than the current policy, it is still so full of holes that it resembles a Swiss cheese.
Pay - It's not really the amount of money on the table that is the problem (4.2% for this year), but the fact that 0.5% (ie. the bit that's above inflation) of it is tied to productivity, and that Tube Lines wants a three-year deal. With Tube Lines returning to TfL, this is our chance to get all workers in all functions and grades into the same pay talks, starting next year - but this is only possible if we get a one-year deal on Tube Lines. In any case, it would be foolish in the extreme to accept a three-year deal that takes us beyond the Olympics.
So ... All out from tonight. Respect picket lines. Don't work in unsafe conditions.