COMMUTERS will be hit by a week of travel chaos with three of four planned strikes over a sacked Northern Line driver set to take place over five days.

The planned action was initially called off after another sacked employee, Eamonn Lynch, was given a job back after winning an employment tribunal for unfair dismissal.

But Bob Crow, the head of the RMT union, accused Transport for London (TfL) of “dragging their heels” in getting Mr Thomas’ tribunal, scheduled for later this month, heard.

He says both men were sacked on “trumped up” charges following earlier strikes, and were victimised because of their union connections.

Transport for London has condemned the action saying it was only supported by 29 per cent of the RMT’s members.

The first walkout will be on Sunday, June 19, from 9pm until 3am on Monday 20, which will disrupt rush-hour Tube placement.

Further walkouts are planned for the following Monday, June 27, between 9pm and midday the following day, then on Wednesday, June 29 from midday until midday the next day, with the last following 24-hours later from midday Friday, July 1 to 9pm that night.

Mr Crow said: “This is a clear cut case of victimisation and RMT calls on London Underground once again to stop the delaying tactics, and the continuing waste of hundreds of thousands of pounds that they have thrown at this case, and get Arwyn Thomas back to work.

“The massive vote for action by Tube drivers in this dispute shows that they are well aware of the consequences of allowing our activists and safety reps to be picked off while we hear daily reports of breakdowns and failures on the network as a direct result of the very cuts that our members have been fighting.”

A statement from TfL said: “It is completely mystifying that, having agreed with LU that the tribunal process should take its course, the RMT leadership is now threatening strike.

"We committed in good faith to legal discussions ahead of Mr Thomas' tribunal. Unfortunately, no agreement was reached. We have always made clear to the RMT that we would respond appropriately to the tribunal's finding.

"We remain determined to improve the industrial relations climate and have been working with the RMT to ensure a jointly sponsored independent overview of disputes takes place.

“This recent positive engagement makes it all the more incredible for the RMT leadership to threaten Londoners with strike action once again, particularly as it was backed by just 29 per cent of its members."