London tube strike called off after Unions reach an agreement

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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A second 48-hour strike on London Underground tube due to take place on Tuesday evening is called off after two of the unions reach an agreement to hold further talks with Transport for London about plans to close all ticket offices.

The TSSA and RMT unions have suspended the strike after reaching a last-minute deal at the conciliation service Acas.

The dispute is over the proposed closure of ticket offices and the net loss of 750 jobs. London Underground has made a new offer to the unions today to extend the consultation period and freeze voluntary redundancy applications.

Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) spokesperson has said: “We have now agreed a process where all our serious concerns over safety and job losses will be seriously addressed through the normal channels.”

“We are obviously pleased that we have agreed this process, which will allow us to suspend our strike immediately, and cancel it later when the agreement reaches us in a formal document.”

General Secretary of Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, Bob Crow has said in a letter to his members: “This is what we were asking for all along and thanks to the support and solidarity you have shown, sense has finally prevailed. Nevertheless we remain firmly against these cuts which we will continue to resist in our discussions with management.”

The arbitration service Acas has said: “Talks have adjourned at Acas this morning. London Underground will be writing to the trade unions with some proposals to end this dispute.

“We are hopeful of a positive response so that the proposed industrial action will be withdrawn.”

Managing director of London Underground, Mike Brown has welcomed the suspension of strike action by RMT and TSSA. 

Workers were due to strike in protest at controversial plans to close all 278 Tube ticket offices, with the loss of 950 jobs.

According to the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a 48-hour stoppage during the previous week had created a travel chaos in the capital and cost businesses £100m.

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