Tube strike: Aslef says Tube strike is set to go ahead

Unions rejected an increased pay offer from London Underground

A 24-hour Tube strike is set to go ahead in a row over pay and conditions for the new night Tube service for London, a union has said.

The train drivers' union Aslef said its 24-hour action would start at 21:30 BST on Wednesday.

London Underground (LU) had offered four unions a deal aimed at improving work-life balance.

BBC London correspondent Karl Mercer said all four unions had rejected the offer as talks continued.

'No other choice'

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has also rejected the deal while Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) is yet to make official its response to the offer.

Unite previously said its action "would go ahead". Talks are being held at conciliatory service Acas.

LU said the new offer included an extra £200 per night Tube shift for drivers and a £500 bonus for station staff by next February as well as a further guarantees for a 32-hour, four-day week.

The last four-union strike in July caused commuter chaos

After a short transition period while the service is introduced, drivers will have the choice whether to work nights, said LU, and everyone will be entitled to two days off in seven.

But Aslef said LU should postpone the planned launch of the all-night Tube on 12 September so further negotiations could be held.

It said the new deal was "completely inflexible", leaving it with "no other choice" than to walk out.

Finn Brennan from the union said the main concern was the "complete lack of firm commitments on work life balance for train drivers" and the number of weekend rest days they would get.

The RMT said it had also rejected the "re-packaged" offer, saying its reps were "furious" when they examined details of the proposed deal.

No Tube services

It said: "They are a re-hash of previous plans and would continue along the course of smashing up long-standing agreements and destroying work-life balance."

LU's managing director Nick Brown said he was "hugely disappointed" the unions had rejected the "very fair" offer for "pretty thin" reasons, but that LU remained open to further talks.

Transport for London (TfL) has warned that Tube services will stop running at 18:30 BST on Wednesday, with services "exceptionally busy" from 16:30 BST.

There will be no Tube services all day on Thursday.

The action follows a strike that closed the entire network at the beginning of July after the unions rejected an offer which included a 2% rise this year and £2,000 for drivers on the weekend night Tube service.