LONDON: A planned 48-hour strike this week by staff on London’s underground rail network which threatened to bring travel misery for millions has been suspended to allow further talks, unions said yesterday.
Similar action last week over threats to jobs from the planned closure of manned ticket offices caused chaos on the capital’s roads and was condemned by Prime Minister David Cameron as “shameful.”
The Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) said they had now agreed to postpone their strike action following talks with managers over modernisation plans.
“I’m pleased the action has been suspended and we have got to where we can have negotiations without a gun pointed to our head,” Bob Crow, the RMT general secretary said.
The unions and London Underground bosses have been holding talks at the conciliation service ACAS and Crow said they had received proposals to halt proposed job cuts, which allowed them to call off industrial action for the time being.
However, Crow warned that the strike could be re-instated if further discussions failed.
Reuters
