Boris Johnson has condemned RMT's campaign to overturn the illegal sackings of trade union reps as "idiotic ... even by the grim standards of the RMT leadership, the series of strikes they are now seeking to inflict on their members and fellow Londoners are unbelievable".

A TfL spokesman has said: “It is absolute nonsense to suggest that these individuals were dismissed unfairly due to their union activities." So now the Mayor and his management are suggesting that two independent employment tribunal judges are fools or do not understand the law of the land. Have some respect for the law!

It is time that Johnson and his team at LU get their heads around this: is it is illegal to sack someone for their trade union activity as it is to sack someone because they are gay, black or a woman. That is why the RMT has called strike action on London Underground for the reinstatement of train drivers Eamonn Lynch and Arwyn Thomas. These men have been granted interim relief tribunal rulings which mean Employment Tribunals believe they have been sacked for their trade union activity.

As Bob Crow has said "The attack on Eamon Lynch and Arwyn Thomas is the clearest case of victimisation on the grounds of trade union activities that you will ever see and it's no wonder that the employment tribunal was swift to see through the management lies and grant both these members interim relief - an award which requires the strongest possible proof that their sackings were down to their union activities."

The facts are that London Underground sacked Eamonn for following an instruction which turned out to be wrong, despite not sacking other drivers who made similar - or even worse - errors. LU sacked Arwyn following accusations from strike-breakers during last year's strikes against station job cuts. In both cases, Employment Tribunals have awarded 'interim relief', ruling that London Underground sacked them unlawfully, unfairly and because of their trade union activities. Despite this, and despite campaigning and lobbying, London Underground is still refusing to reinstate them, so RMT has had to call strikes.The RMT has sought through negotiation face to face and via talks at ACAS to resolve this situation and see Eamonn and Arwyn back at work. It is because LU have refused to comply with the law of this country - that employees cannot be discriminated against because of their trade union activity - that the union has been forced to call this action.

Attached are the interim relief tribunal rulings in full.