London Underground today responded to the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union's announcement that it was holding a strike ballot over the introduction of the 35-hour week for station staff agreed by the union last year.

London Underground and the RMT agreed to implement a shorter working week

A London Underground spokesperson said: "The RMT is threatening to strike over the implementation of a shorter, 35-hour five-day working week on London Underground.

"This is an agreement that they campaigned for and signed over a year ago, hailing it as a 'groundbreaking' deal.

"It was endorsed by their General Secretary, Executive Council and Tube membership by a margin of 30-1.

"London Underground and the RMT agreed to implement a shorter working week, as long as it came at no extra cost to the Tube farepayers.

"This means some staff being redeployed from ticket offices to station platforms and ticket halls, which can also boost reassurance for our passengers and security.

"There will be no overall cuts in staff numbers.

"The continued success of Oyster had led to a significant reduction in the demand for paper tickets, reducing the need for the same number of staff in ticket offices."

Earlier, the RMT had announced that it has resolved its dispute with Metronet and withdrawn the separate threat of strike action in the week before Christmas.

The new ballot result is due on 22 December.

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