This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/jul/07/london-underground-tube-strike-talks-resume
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Talks break down without agreement on eve of tube strike | Talks break down without agreement on eve of tube strike |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Talks between London Underground officials and unions have broken down without agreement on the eve of a planned tube strike, according to union sources. | Talks between London Underground officials and unions have broken down without agreement on the eve of a planned tube strike, according to union sources. |
| Thousands of workers from all four unions representing underground staff are set to walk out from Wednesday evening, completely closing the underground network throughout Thursday. | Thousands of workers from all four unions representing underground staff are set to walk out from Wednesday evening, completely closing the underground network throughout Thursday. |
| Related: Tube strike talks break down after 'final' offer | Related: Tube strike talks break down after 'final' offer |
| Despite having set a deadline of 6.30pm on Monday to accept a final offer in the dispute over pay and rotas for the impending night tube service, managers decided to remain available for talks on Tuesday afternoon. London Underground said it would remain available for last-ditch talks on Wednesday but union negotiators said they saw no point returning before the strike. | |
| Staff voted overwhelmingly for action in separate ballots, with train drivers particularly incensed at demands to work new night and weekend shifts for little extra compensation. The last, improved offer was for an average 2% pay rise this year with £2,000 for drivers on the new all-night service. But it was rejected by the RMT, Aslef, TSSA and Unite unions. | Staff voted overwhelmingly for action in separate ballots, with train drivers particularly incensed at demands to work new night and weekend shifts for little extra compensation. The last, improved offer was for an average 2% pay rise this year with £2,000 for drivers on the new all-night service. But it was rejected by the RMT, Aslef, TSSA and Unite unions. |
| Tube services will wind down from 6pm Wednesday evening and none will run throughout Thursday, but the Docklands light railway, London overground and other rail services into the capital will still operate. | Tube services will wind down from 6pm Wednesday evening and none will run throughout Thursday, but the Docklands light railway, London overground and other rail services into the capital will still operate. |
| Transport for London said it would run extra bus and river services in the event of a strike and roadworks would be suspended wherever possible. It warned that all public transport and roads would be much busier than usual. | |
| Tfl will deploy travel ambassadors and volunteers to hand out maps at central London transport hubs and to assist in giving directions, as well as putting marshals at rail station taxi ranks to manage demand. The congestion charge will still apply. | Tfl will deploy travel ambassadors and volunteers to hand out maps at central London transport hubs and to assist in giving directions, as well as putting marshals at rail station taxi ranks to manage demand. The congestion charge will still apply. |
| It is encouraging people to cycle, using their own bike wherever possible because demand is expected to be intense for the cycle hire scheme. TfL will focus extra resources replenishing central docking bays. | |
| London Underground’s chief operating officer, Steve Griffiths, said: “Our customers are advised to check the TfL website for the latest information as we seek to resolve the dispute and to keep London moving should the unions go ahead with their action. We are available for talks at Acas all day.” | |
| The gap between the unions and the Tube management became clear as both sides bitterly denounced the other’s negotiating stance at Acas. Aslef accused London Underground of “playing foolish games of brinkmanship” and misleading staff and the public, while the RMT’s general secretary Mick Cash said that the company had “come up with nothing in the talks this afternoon” despite strenuous efforts by union negotiators. | |
| But London Underground boss Mike Brown said: “It’s very disappointing and amazing to me that the strike is going ahead. We haven’t had any response. We think it’s a very fair, reasonable offer. They haven’t given us any feedback. I’ve never seen a negotiating approach like it in 28 years.” | |
| Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef said the dispute was entirely the fault of TfL, which announced plans for the night tube services “without proper negotiation, on the same day as nearly 1,000 redundancies on the London Underground”. | |
| He added: “The suspicion is that TfL don’t really want to run the night tube, which is why, after months of not talking to us, they only improved their offer yesterday. We believe in the night tube because we believe that London deserves a 24-hour public transport service. But we also believe in a proper work-life balance for the drivers who are delivering that service.” | He added: “The suspicion is that TfL don’t really want to run the night tube, which is why, after months of not talking to us, they only improved their offer yesterday. We believe in the night tube because we believe that London deserves a 24-hour public transport service. But we also believe in a proper work-life balance for the drivers who are delivering that service.” |
| In a separate dispute, RMT staff on First Great Western trains will be striking for 48 hours from 6.30pm on Wednesday, affecting commuter services into the capital as well as trains across the rail network to south-west England and Wales. |