Maintenance workers on London's underground rail network went out on strike on Monday at the start of a wave of industrial action which unions say will cripple the system, bringing misery to commuters.   

About 200 Alstom-Metro staff on the Jubilee and Northern "Tube" lines began their action over pay late on Sunday evening, causing some disruption and delays during Monday's morning rush hour, the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union said.

However, the network is due to be crippled when up to 10,000 members of the RMT and white collar TSSA union, ranging from station employees to drivers, begin to down tools from late afternoon at the start of a 24-hour walkout.

The RMT said this separate strike was to protest at plans to cut 800 station jobs and close ticket-offices. London Underground said the aim was to deploy staff more effectively and stated there would be no compulsory redundancies.

Transport for London (TfL) said most journeys would be disrupted during the strike but said it intended to run as many trains and keep open as many stations as possible.   

However, it said it was encouraging people to use bikes, buses, and boats instead of the underground, while a marshalled taxi service will be run on Tuesday at the capital's five major rail termini.

The RMT accused London Underground of "playing fast and loose" with safety, saying a circular had gone around desperately appealing for volunteers to try and run Tube services regardless of whether they had the necessary operational licences.    

"There do not appear to be any corners that London Underground are not prepared to cut in order to bulldoze through their lethal cocktail of job and safety cuts," RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said in a statement.

"Sending out a few volunteers without the necessary Operational Licences and training to try and run a few trains is a disaster waiting to happen."     

TfL said it had sought volunteers to hand out information to passengers, not to carry out skilled jobs. "No one will ever be asked to do a job that they have not got the appropriate licence for, and we would never allow any member of staff who did not have valid operational licences to work in safety-critical roles," a spokesman said.

The strikes are just the first in a series planned by unions. Maintenance workers are due to walk out again on October 2, November 1 and November 27, while further joint 24-hour strikes by TSSA and RMT staff are planned for October 3, November 2 and November 28. - Reuters