Tube strikes: London Underground walkouts cancelled

Strike action was due to take place on Wednesday and Friday

Planned strikes on the London Underground have been called off following "significant progress" in talks over jobs and conditions.

About 3,000 Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members were due to strike on Wednesday and Friday.

It is in dispute with Transport for London (TfL) over 600 post closures.

The cuts are part of a savings programme that was required by the £1.2bn government funding deal agreed in August 2022.

Revenue is guaranteed until 2024 but TfL has to look for about £230m of savings.

A spokesperson for the RMT said after talks with conciliation service Acas, it had managed to "save jobs, prevent detrimental changes to rosters and secure protection of earnings around grading changes".

The union added: "The significant progress means that key elements have been settled although there remains wider negotiations to be had in the job, pensions and working agreements dispute."

Nick Dent, London Underground's director of customer operations, said: "We are pleased that the RMT has withdrawn its planned industrial action this week and that the dispute on our change proposals in stations is now resolved.

"This is good news for London and we will continue to work closely with our trade unions as we evolve London Underground to ensure we can continue to support the capital in the most effective way."

Analysis: BBC London transport correspondent, Tom Edwards

The RMT union had fears over lone working and the workload, while TfL said no station would be left unstaffed and no-one would lose their job.

Either way, now a resolution appears to have been found which it seems to mean fewer post closures and enough protections to keep union reps happy.

As transport systems continue to be messed up with strikes, here at least there's some good news for passengers.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has overall responsibility for TfL, said: "There's no winners when it comes to industrial action which is why I'm so pleased that this industrial action has been called off.

"I'd like to thank the RMT and TfL for their hard work over the past few days. It shows the difference talking can make."

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