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Union barons today threatened industrial action on the Tube in a bizarre row about station staff being ordered to wear new red vests.

The RMT union is to ballot members on taking “action short of a strike” in protest at having to wear the reversible tabards, which some workers claim make them overheat.

The vests, dubbed “gilets rouges” in reference to the gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protests in France, were introduced on Sunday by Transport for London to help passengers spot Underground staff, but some are already refusing them.

A ballot is now due to be held, with staff set to ditch the garments across the entire Tube network in protest.

The vests have a “Here to help” message on the red back and are orange on the inside. Staff are expected to wear the red side in ticket halls and switch to orange when on platforms dispatching trains and in emergencies. But the RMT said it was a “pathetic” attempt to disguise alleged staff cuts by increasing the visibility of those who remain on duty.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said the “imposition” of the red vests was an “ill-conceived” attempt to cover-up the “intentional lack of staff on our stations due to cost-cutting exercises”.

He added that they make staff “a target for anti-social behaviour”.

Darren Smith, a TfL guard at Liverpool Street station, said: “I’m lucky in that they don’t make them in XXL so I can’t wear it. We just find the ‘happy to help’ message on the back really patronising and insulting ... We weren’t consulted at all. We just got an email come through saying we have to wear them.”

Tube Strike - In Pictures 15 show all Tube Strike - In Pictures 1/15 Bus queues Jeremy Selwyn 2/15 Packed GWR trains and District Line trains at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 3/15 Packed GWR trains and District Line trains at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 4/15 Platforms at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 5/15 Passengers study departure board at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 6/15 Very busy District Line trains at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 7/15 Very busy District Line trains at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 8/15 Shepherds Bush underground station this morning Jeremy Selwyn 9/15 Shepherds Bush underground station this morning Jeremy Selwyn 10/15 Passengers on crowded buses in Shepherds Bush Jeremy Selwyn 11/15 Passengers waiting for buses in Uxbridge Road Shepherds Bush Jeremy Selwyn 12/15 Central Line strike at Liverpool St Alex Lentati 13/15 Central Line strike at Liverpool St Alex Lentati 14/15 Central Line strike at Liverpool St Alex Lentati 15/15 Central Line strike at Liverpool St Alex Lentati 1/15 Bus queues Jeremy Selwyn 2/15 Packed GWR trains and District Line trains at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 3/15 Packed GWR trains and District Line trains at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 4/15 Platforms at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 5/15 Passengers study departure board at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 6/15 Very busy District Line trains at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 7/15 Very busy District Line trains at Ealing Broadway this morning Jeremy Selwyn 8/15 Shepherds Bush underground station this morning Jeremy Selwyn 9/15 Shepherds Bush underground station this morning Jeremy Selwyn 10/15 Passengers on crowded buses in Shepherds Bush Jeremy Selwyn 11/15 Passengers waiting for buses in Uxbridge Road Shepherds Bush Jeremy Selwyn 12/15 Central Line strike at Liverpool St Alex Lentati 13/15 Central Line strike at Liverpool St Alex Lentati 14/15 Central Line strike at Liverpool St Alex Lentati 15/15 Central Line strike at Liverpool St Alex Lentati

He added: “Only my manager wears his. Everyone else is wearing the old ones in protest.”

Politicians and passengers expressed dismay at the threat of more industrial action on the Tube. Keith Prince, a Tory member of the London Assembly, said: “Helping customers to identify TfL staff more easily by making their clothing more prominent is an eminently sensible move. It beggars belief that the RMT is preparing to take industrial action in response to the introduction of a different coloured garment.”

Management consultant Jason Marker, 38, who commutes from Essex to Liverpool Street, said: “I have already been hit by the RMT’s pointless strikes on the role of a guard on trains ... Saying staff will overheat is absolute nonsense. They won’t overheat any more than the rest of us travelling on the Tube.”

The vests were brought in after passenger group London TravelWatch advised that station staff were hard to spot in crowds.