Thursday 27 October 2016 1:21 pm

Now Tube workers on the Piccadilly line are voting on strikes

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has been busy.

Yesterday it announced it was balloting Southern Rail drivers over the long-running dispute on the role of guards, and 3,500 London Underground staff following a security incident at North Greenwich Tube station. The union said the incident had put safety "back at the top of the agenda".

Today, it's balloting a further 400 drivers on the Piccadilly line, which serves Heathrow Airport's terminals, for strike action. If strike action goes ahead across the board, Christmas chaos could well and truly be on the cards for the capital's commuters.

The newest ballot is over a dispute over breaching agreements, procedures and policies which the RMT said amounts to "a wholesale breakdown in industrial relations" between the union and London Underground.

The ballot will open on 1 November and conclude on the 15 November.

Mike Cash, RMT general secretary, said: "Industrial relations on the Piccadilly line have been corroded through repeated failures to follow agreements, policies and procedures. It is those failures that have led to the wholesale breakdown in industrial relations which has triggered this ballot for action."

Balloting dates:

RMT balloting Southern Rail drivers – opens 4 November, closes 18 November
Main drivers' union Aslef balloting Southern Rail drivers – opens 4 November, closes 18 November
RMT balloting 3,500 London Underground workers over safety – opens 1 November, closes 15 November
RMT balloting Piccadilly Line workers – opens 1 November, closes 15 November