Unions back at the table ahead of tube strikes

Union and London Underground bosses were back at the negotiating table in a bid to avoid a series of 24-hour tube strikes, the Evening Standard reported on Friday.

On Monday, ASLEF, RMT and UNITE announced that members on the London Underground would strike for 24 hours on three days in the long-running dispute over pay and plans for the night tube.

Strikes are planned for 24 hours from 2115 GMT on Tuesday 26 January, as well as from 2115 GMT on Monday 15 February and 2115 GMT on Wednesday 17 February.

It is set to result in a complete shutdown of the tube over those three days.

An RMT spokesman told the Evening Standard the union will attend the talks in the hope of breaking the deadlock.

It also reported Aslef's London Underground organiser Finn Brennan saying that a world-class city like London deserves a 24-hour service.

“But it needs to work for those who provide that public service, as well as for the passengers who use it, and the management at TfL. London Underground needs to stop bullying and start negotiating," he said.