Thousands of workers on the London Underground are set to strike in what could be a major battle in the fight to make the bosses' pay for the crisis in the system.

London Mayor Boris Johnson, an Old Etonian and Tory Grandee if ever there was one, has declared war on the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT), which organises most of the London Underground workers. Johnson has wanted the scalp of the RMT even prior to his election, when he openly talked about banning strikes on the tube.

Now he is attempting to push through 1,000 job losses on the tube and 3,000 on Transport for London, as part of £2.6bn cuts programme. But that's not all; Johnson also wants the RMT to accept a five-year deal in order to stop the union using its bargaining power around the time of the London Olympics.

And how much will workers get in return for tying their hands? A derisory 1 per cent this year followed by the rate of inflation (RPI) plus half a per cent for the next four years! But while deflation is the dominant trend in the economy, this would mean a pay cut - whereas the return of inflationary pressures would be sure to see tube bosses tear up the agreement.

As Workers Power went to press, RMT negotiators announced the threat of action had been enough for tube bosses to offer some - albeit minuscule - concessions, and drop the demand for a five year pay deal, tabling either a two year deal at a derisory one per cent followed by RPI plus 0.5 per cent next year or, alternatively, 1.5 per cent this year. Bosses even had the cheek to call the extra 0.5 per cent a “premium” for accepting a four-year deal - some premium!

That they are making concessions at all shows the power of the RMT; the last time tube workers went on strike in 2007 their actions cost business £48m a day. While these are the Chamber of London's figures and probably exaggerated, it is nevertheless clear that tube workers have tremendous power when striking together.

But it's telling that Transport for London have refused to discuss any of the issues in dispute - in particular, the massive planned job losses. There must be no compromise on the jobs losses - compulsory redundancies or voluntary, which leave remaining workers doing twice the work. These should be non-negotiable red lines.

We have seen in other sectors, like the civil service, how disastrous it can be when unions accept so-called “efficiency savings” (i.e. cuts) in return for pay rises, which rarely come once bosses know that the union can be pushed around.

Now is not the time for compromise or concession at all. Tube workers have shown their willingness to fight with 85 per cent of workers voting to strike. But more will be needed to force the hand of Boris Johnson. RMT will kick off the action with a 48-hour strike starting at 7pm on 9 June and has promised more strike days - this is positive. They should also organise an intermittent work-to-rule in order to keep up the momentum.

But the surest and quickest way to win is to go all-out indefinite. Many workers are watching the RMT strike, looking to see if such a well-organised section can show the way in the fight against the jobs massacre ripping through the economy. RMT workers certainly have the industrial muscle and strength of organisation - now all is needed is decisive, militant action.