Ken faces first Tube strike threat

Ken Livingstone today faces his first strike ballot on the Tube, only six days after taking control of the ailing network.

Aslef, the train drivers' union, has ordered the ballot among more than 200 members on the Metropolitan line - used by tens of thousands of commuters a day - following the case of a driver sacked for gross misconduct.

Steve Grant, the union's London district secretary, said the ballot for industrial action, which could include 24-hour walkouts, has been called over a range of issues in addition to the dismissal.

Mr Grant said he is confident of "overwhelming support". The union chief said members from other parts of the Tube network had also demanded ballots following alleged "bullying" by managers.

Last Friday the Evening Standard revealed how the Mayor and Tim O'Toole, the new LU managing director, planned an unprecedented three or four-year pay deal to prevent the "annual dance" of strikes which have caused commuter misery.

They will not, however, insist on a "no-strike" clause because the Mayor's aides say "it won't be necessary". Instead, a "stability" agreement will be called for. The driver - who is not named - was sacked after he opened the doors on the wrong side of his train at Ruislip station. This could have resulted in passengers falling on to the track.

London Underground said the driver was dismissed because he had made a number of "gross safety errors" connected with the incident.

Mr Grant said: "We do not condone what the driver did. But he has been treated differently from other drivers who have committed similar offences but have not been sacked. There has been no offer for counselling or retraining for a different post.

"Also, a station assistant involved in the Ruislip incident was only given a verbal warning."

Mr Grant added: "The union has already suspended this ballot once to allow the transfer of the Underground [to Transport for London] to take place.

"But we are no further forward in trying to agree a level of consistency in dealing with staff disciplinary matters." He continued: "This union is extremely concerned about the number of complaints it is getting from members who say they are subject to harassment and bullying from managers.

"There was a definite change in the build-up to the takeover of the Tube by Transport for London with managers trying to prove they are hard-nosed."

An LU spokeswoman confirmed that two drivers had been involved in wrong-side door opening incidents. One driver had been reinstated after it was suggested there could have been a fault with the mechanics of the train.

She said the Ruislip driver "remains dismissed" because he had not carried out the safety instructions which he was required to do after opening the doors on the wrong side. He had not informed the line controller, nor did he obtain authority to continue the journey following the incident.

The spokeswoman said: "The issues concerning the two drivers were completely different."