Unions pause strikes Night Tube postponed

Strikes and overtime bans, planned by the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions on London Underground for August 25/26 and 27/28 were suspended after LU postponed the launch of 24-hour running on parts of the network until later in the autumn.

The Night Tube had been due to launch on September 12. But following what LU described as “two weeks of constructive talks”, it said it is deferring the launch to “allow for the successful conclusion of those talks”. No date has been announced, although LU still plans to run overnight Underground trains later this year.

LU Managing Director Nick Brown was positive that an agreement would be reached, saying: “Further to the progress made in recent days with the trades unions and the suspension of strike action, we believe we are not far from an agreement that protects the work-life balance of our employees and is affordable, sustainable and fair.”

However, although the unions have suspended industrial action, RMT General Secretary Mick Cash warned: “Any movement towards the implementation of Night Tube, including running any test trains, will lead to us calling further industrial action without delay.”

He added that if RMT demands to protect the jobs, terms and conditions of station staff were not met, further action could follow. “ gives us an opportunity to now get the basics that should have been sorted months ago worked out through direct negotiation,” he concluded.

TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes said LU has “acknowledged and agreed” that changes to framework agreements for staff must be negotiated with and agreed by the trades unions, rather than being imposed by LU.

Should agreement be reached, 24-hour running on Friday and Saturday nights will start on the Central Line between Ealing Broadway and Loughton/Hainault, on the entire Jubilee and Victoria Lines, on all of the Northern Line except the Mill Hill East and Bank branches, and on the Piccadilly Line between Cockfosters and Heathrow Terminal 5.