Following the massive Yes vote in their ballots [1], RMT and the two smaller unions TSSA and Unite have named strike dates on Metronet. RMT and Unite will strike for two lots of 72 hours - from 18:00 on Monday September 3 until 17:59 on Thursday September 6; and from 18:00 on Monday September 10 and 17:59 on Thursday September 13.

The TSSA couldn't quite stomach striking for that long, so is going out on a 48-hour strike starting on the 4th. Absurdly, TSSA will expect its members in effect to scab on a strike that they voted to be part of and will be joining later the same week! Of course it's great news that TSSA are striking at all - "Our members are not renowned for their militancy", (under)stated General Secretary Gerry Docherty [2] - but the fact is that management can schedule essential safety checks 48 hours apart, so 72-hour action will be much more effective.

Tubeworker has always championed cross-union unity, and we hope it holds throughout this dispute - go out together, go back together, no separate deals. But RMT has such a massive majority of members on Metronet that even if the other two pull out, it can continue and still be confident of winning (and recruiting).

It is essential that all three unions keep their nerve and do not call off action just for talks or minor concessions. The anti-union laws may have forced the unions into striking over jobs, conditions and pensions, but we can not lose sight of what we really want: maintenance and upgrades brought back into public ownership as part of a reintegrated London Underground.

The strikes will have a massive cumulative impact on Tube services on Metronet's lines, and the effect on Underground operations can be accelerated by LUL staff remembering their legal right to refuse to work on safety grounds and putting it into action. Drivers - are you going to take a train into service if you've no proof it's been properly checked? Or notice a fault on a signal or OPO mirror/monitor and not report it?! Station Supervisors - are you going to let a contractor book on to work on your station if you are not absolutely certain they are qualified and fit to work? Or keep a faulty asset in service if there is no-one available to fix it? Of course not.