Victoria line Tube strike called off ahead of fresh talks with union bosses and London Underground

The tube strike was due to take place on November 27 and 28
PA

A planned strike on the Victoria line next week has been called off ahead of fresh talks between union bosses and London Underground (LU).

The walkout by drivers was due to take place on November 27 and 28, but the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) confirmed today it had suspended the action.

The RMT said it had made the decision "to allow for the issues at the heart of the dispute to be addressed in detail in further talks with London Underground."

LU's Director of Line Operations Nick Dent told the Standard: “We are pleased that the RMT has suspended this industrial action. We will continue to work through the steps we agreed earlier this year to resolve the issues they have raised.”

The strike was set to run from 10pm on November 27 until the same time the following day
Alex Lentati

Tube union leaders ordered the 24-hour strike last Thursday, threatening that there would be more to come in the run-up to Christmas.

The strike was originally scheduled to take place in September but was suspended when the union believed it had reached a deal with London Underground (LU).

The Victoria line, an RMT stronghold, is used by some 600,000 passengers a day.

RMT leader Mick Cash has blamed LU for a breakdown in industrial relations, saying Tube bosses had "reneged " on a series of pledges made at conciliation service Acas.

“LU’s actions are deliberately provocative and the announcement of action later this month is solely down to their childish behaviour,” he said last week.

Mr Cash claimed abuses of procedures, pay arrangements and constant harassment of staff were also were at the heart of the dispute.

"It is extraordinary that LU seriously believed that they could get away with mugging off drivers on the Victoria Line by making promises and then pulling them away the moment that they step out into the daylight," he added.

Transport for London (TfL), parent company of LU, responded by saying: "We have been making progress with the RMT on these issues."

The Standard has contacted the RMT for comment on today's announcement.

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