Subway cleaners plan strike

LONDON (AP):

No subway cleaners will be working in the stretch of the London subway, known as the Tube, near the Olympic Park between today and Saturday, as part of a walkout, a transport union says.

The RMT union says that the strike is the result of a pay dispute and that picket lines will be set up outside several Tube stations, including Stratford, from early today.

London's Tube is not the cleanest on the best of days, and rats (or are they mice?) are frequently spotted scurrying on platforms. The host city has put on its best face to visitors, and succeeded so far. The cleaners' strike, if it goes ahead, could change that.