Christmas Tube strike

Tube passengers are facing the prospect of strike misery over Christmas and New Year.

Aslef, the train drivers' union, is today announcing the results of two ballots calling for strike action on the Piccadilly and District lines.

Steve Grant, Aslef London district secretary, said: "I am confident that in each ballot there will be an overwhelming majority supporting the call for action." If strike action on the Piccadilly line is given the go-ahead, drivers will walk out on Christmas Eve. It would be the first of a series of planned stoppages by unions, which include:

The scale of the action being planned by militant union bosses has shocked London Underground.

Today it is pleading for both unions to resolve the disputes before ordering walk-outs.

A spokesman said: "Strikes or other industrial action will not solve these issues. We are continuing to try and speak with the unions." The string of strikes centre on a series of rows between staff and management.

But the threat to snub plans to run the Tube through the night on New Year's Eve is likely to prove the most contentious as it centres on the controversial 52-day holiday deal given to station staff.

Angry drivers are now demanding that they be given the same deal even though they have already agreed to work just 35 hours a week in return for smaller pay rises. They are also demanding a "substantial"-pay increase to "maintain the differential" between them and station staff. The other disputes centre on an attempt by the union to have a driver who passed a signal at danger reinstated. He was demoted to station assistant over the safety breach. There is also a row over tea-making facilities.

Meanwhile, Northern line users suffered yet more disruption today when night-time engineering work failed to finish on time.

The continuing problems with the late finishing of engineering work across the Tube system is of mounting concern to Mayor Ken Livingstone.