LONDON, Dec. 22 (Xinhuanet) -- A 24-hour strike has been called on London underground for the New Year's Eve over working week and staff levels, threatening traffic chaos in possibly the business night in the British capital, local reports said on Thursday.

    The 4,000 members of the Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) voted five to one for starting the industrial action at midday on December 31, which will stop revellers from taking advantage of the tradition of the tube free from 11:45 pm on New Year's Eve until 4:30 on the New Year's Day.

    Another 24-hour strike has also been called for 8 January which will begin at 18:30 GMT.

    RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said the union vote had been taken over Tube bosses' "back-door attempts to displace hundreds of safety-critical station staff under spurious cover of the recent 35-hour week deal", which he said could lead to job losses and compromise safety.

    "The RMT will not accept any dilution of safety standards either for our members or tube users and we hope that the travelling public will joint us in calling on London Underground to step back from the brink and start talking to us seriously," Crow said.

    But a London Underground spokesman was quoted by the BBC as saying there were "no staff cuts" across the Tube net work, explaining that some staff were being redeployed from ticket offices to station platforms and ticket halls, which can also boost reassurance for our passengers and security.

    "We hope this can be resolved without the need for strike action," the spokesman said. Enditem