Metronet to face unions over unqualified electricians claim

Metronet bosses have agreed to meet with union leaders next week to discuss claims that unqualified contractors are carrying out electrical work on the London Underground.

Senior directors at the PPP operator will sit down with officials from the electrical section of Unite.

CJ first revealed the claims last week. A union source said: "Things are moving pretty quickly now this is out in the open. We want a chance to talk to the people at the top about the reality of what is going on under ground."

The union claims that general contractors who are not registered with the electrical industry bodies are carrying out M&E work on the tube. A Metronet spokesman said: "We take safety extremely seriously and work to stringent standards set down by London Underground. We refute absolutely the insinuation that safety is in any way being compromised.

"Any contractor employed by Metronet has to ensure that its staff and subcontractors possess sufficient qualifications, skills and experience to fulfil their duties. Specifically, electricians must possess the appropriate City & Guilds qualification. This is the case: electricians working at all our stations are qualified."

News of the meeting came as it emerged that Birse Metro, Morgan Est and Taylor Woodrow Construction are in the frame to pick up two of Metronet's Tube station modernisation contracts worth a combined £50m.

These are the first contracts to be let by Transport for London (TfL) since Metronet went into administration last year.

The build-only contracts at London Underground's Notting Hill and Marble Arch stations involve major improvement works. They are being let through TfL's Alternative Provider (AP) framework contract which has three members - Birse, Morgan Est and Taylor Woodrow Construction.

A TfL spokesman said: "They are important stations and we would like to carry out improvements we had planned for both of them."