London Underground staff pay talks 'collapse'

The RMT union said it was "escalating the dispute" and moving to a strike ballot

Talks over a pay deal for London Underground workers have "collapsed", leading to the potential for strikes.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union met with Tube bosses, who offered a two-year pay deal.

But RMT general secretary Mick Cash said the proposals failed to make "serious improvements in both pay and working conditions".

A Transport for London spokesman said it had "made an offer to our unions we believe is fair and affordable".

The pay deal offered was worth Retail Price Index (RPI) inflation, plus 0.1% followed by RPI plus 0.2%.

Mr Cash said the union was now moving to a strike ballot, adding: "The failure of Tube bosses to come up with proposals that meet our call for serious improvements in both pay and working conditions has been the catalyst for the collapse of the talks.

"That failure by the management side means we have no option but to accelerate the balloting process and escalate the dispute."

He added the RMT "remains available" for further talks.

The TfL spokesman said: "We have made an offer to our unions that we believe is fair and affordable.

"We remain available for further discussions and have asked that [conciliation service] ACAS help to facilitate these talks.

"We look forward to finding a resolution in order to provide certainty for our hardworking staff."