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MORE THAN 2,200 members of Britain^s biggest rail union at Northern Rail are to be balloted for strike action over a ^comprehensive breakdown^ in industrial relations.

RMT has called the vote following continued attacks on payments to staff assaulted on duty, victimisation of union reps, breaches of disciplinary procedures, imposition of new conditions, broken promises on train crewing and breaches of promotion and transfer agreements.

^Industrial relations at Northern have plummeted to a new low, and our members are telling us that the company^s aggression must be challenged,^ RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

^It is only a year since Northern told us it was withdrawing its heartless attempt to dock the pay of staff who had to take time off work after being assaulted, but it has become clear that local managers have been given the nod to continue doing it.

^In the last three months the company has fired two union reps for alleged breaches of conditions that have been imposed without agreement, and cynically manipulated its own disciplinary procedures in the process.

^We have also seen the company fail to produce written assurances we were promised that guards would be in place during trials of new tram-trains on the Penistone-Huddersfield line, and now there are also moves to undermine promotion prospects for our members.

^Penalising assault victims victimising union reps, imposing new policies and ignoring established procedures add up to massive attack on Northern^s own staff, and we will be urging our members to return a decisive mandate for action,^ Bob Crow said.