Workers at failed Tube contractor Metronet have voted in favour of strike action.

The Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) said 751 of its members voted for industrial action in a row over staff transfers and pensions.

The RMT, which is worried its Metronet members will be forced to join other employers when contracts are transferred to Transport for London meaning worse pension deals, said 171 members voted against industrial action.

A TfL spokesman: "Industrial action would be completely unnecessary and not achieve anything.

"The RMT have been given guarantees that no staff will lose jobs, pensions or be transferred as a result of Metronet's collapse. Indeed, the vast majority of Metronet employees already enjoy these benefits.

"We have an agreement with the trade unions on all these issues, hammered out during the previous dispute, that it was agreed would last through the period of administration.

advertisement"Metronet remains in administration. We urge the RMT to acknowledge their agreement and the assurances given."

But RMT leader Bob Crow said: "The transfer of these contracts is highly complex, but we need simple guarantees on the security of our members' jobs and their pensions." said "It is one thing to be told that there are intentions, but intentions are not guarantees and we have already made it clear that it would be unthinkable for the transfer of Metronet back to the public sector to be used as a Trojan horse for a two-tier workforce."