Strike threat to DLR commuters

Commuters using the Docklands Light Railway could be the next victims of strike action as guards and station staff fight for major pay rises.

The Rail Maritime and Transport Union has called a strike ballot for all DLR workers and if industrial action goes ahead, thousands of commuters working at Canary Wharf and Docklands face a nightmare journey.

The Docklands voting will be co-ordinated with a ballot of London Underground train drivers who are involved in a separate pay dispute.

The RMT is also to ballot workers at Silverlink Trains, which runs services from London to the Midlands.

In a bid to head off the threat of strikes, Connex, which runs trains into London from south east England, is believed to have increased a pay offer to the RMT.

The company had originally offered guards a rise of 4.8% over 18 months but union sources said the deal was now being offered over 12 months.

Leaders of the RMT will consider the offer next week before deciding whether to recommend acceptance or press ahead with a ballot for industrial action.

South West Trains, which has already been affected, faces another walkout next Monday and Tuesday.

Two days of strike action began yesterday on Arriva Trains Northern, crippling services in and out of Leeds and Newcastle.