Talks to avert Tube strikes adjourned
Talks aimed at averting strikes on London Underground over the closure of Tube ticket offices have been adjourned and will resume next week.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union has called two 24-hour walkouts for February 4 and 11, while the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) will announce on Monday if its members have voted for stoppages. The two unions are campaigning against plans to close all Tube ticket offices with the loss of hundreds of jobs.
TSSA leader Manuel Cortes said the talks between the unions and LU at the conciliation service Acas had been a “sham”. He claimed that LU negotiators were having their “hands tied” by London Mayor Boris Johnson. “When he gets back from Davos, Boris should break the habit of a lifetime and sit down with the representatives of the staff that run our Tube to resolve this dispute,” he said.