The collapsed London Underground operator Metronet could soon be crippled by strike action after unions yesterday decided to ballot for a walk-out over job security and pensions.

The RMT and the TSSA, which represent more than 2,600 workers, said that they would ballot for strike action after the administrator failed to give assurances that there would be no job losses, forced transfers or cuts to pension entitlements.

Ernst & Young was appointed administrator to Metronet two weeks ago after the company’s plea for emergency funding of £551 million was rejected by industry regulators.

Bob Crow, RMT general secretary, said: “We warned from the start that we would not allow our members’ jobs and conditions to be decimated by Metronet’s death throes.”

The unions fear job losses and they are resisting the forced transfer of jobs from Metronet to Bombardier, one of the collapsed company’s stakeholders.

In addition to fears over jobs on the Underground, Unite, the biggest union, has said that Metronet, which employs more than 5,000 people, is planning 700 redundancies in back-office staff.

Ernst & Young has told unions that all previous agreements reached with Metronet are now no longer valid now that the company is in administration.

Unions will begin to ballot their members on August 7 about possible strike action.

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