London Underground (LU) workers are to stage a 48-hour go-slow next month in a row over safety, threatening travel chaos for millions of commuters and Christmas shoppers, it was announced yesterday.

Members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union will take industrial action on December 8 and 9, with the threat of further disruption in the week running up the Christmas Eve unless the row is settled.

Drivers will drive Tube trains at a maximum speed of 25mph instead of the normal 40 to 45mph and at lower speeds if they have concerns about the state of the track.

Union members at Tube stations will be told to close them if they become too congested as a result of the industrial action.

The union's executive will meet next month and could decide to call 24-hour strikes and a week-long go-slow from December 17.

The action is part of a campaign by the RMT to bring maintenance work back in-house following two derailments last month.

Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT, said: "We have reluctantly been forced to take this action in the interests of safety in order to stop a major disaster of the type that has occurred when these privateers were in charge of the rail network."

LU had failed to meet the union's concerns over safety on the Underground.

The first day of the industrial action, will be the day the England rugby team hold a victory parade in central London.

Friday November 28, 2003