London Underground and Docklands Light Railway summer strike dates set

Strike dates on London Underground and the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) have been announced by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) Union, following recent ballots.

On the Underground, the Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee Lines will be affected between 19.00 hours on Wednesday 23rd June 2010 and 18.59 hours on Friday 25th June 2010, and between 19.00 hours on Wednesday 14th July and 18.59 hours on Friday 16th July.

During these times, maintenance workers belonging to the RMT union will not be working. You are strongly advised to seek alternate routes using Transport for London's Journey Planner.

The dispute centers around the failure of Transport for London to "give concrete assurances on jobs, pay and working conditions", according to the RMT, after Tfl took over Tube Lines.

Tfl has refused to comment.

In a separate dispute, RMT members on the Docklands Light Railway will be striking between 04.00 hours on Wednesday 23rd June and 03.59 hours on Saturday 26th June.

There is also an overtime ban between 00.01 and 23.59 on Monday 28th June, which may lead to a shortage of staff.

The RMT claims that Serco, the company which runs the DLR, did not compensate staff for the increased workload and responsibility that occurred when a third carriage was added to trains.

David Godley, managing director of Serco Docklands, told the BBC: "This threat of industrial action is an opportunistic demand for cash for employees who have not had any change to job descriptions or terms or conditions of their employment.

Both strikes were voted for by a large majority of members.

It is interesting to note that the Transport for London website does not inform passengers of either disruption.