More chaos in the capital: Two new Tube strikes to go ahead in February with more in the works for March
London Underground workers have said they will stage fresh walkouts, with a 16-hour strike from 5 February and a 15-hour one from the 7 February.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union announced the new dates as a row continued to rage over jobs and Tube ticket office closures.
Talks had been taking place at conciliation service Acas in an effort to avoid a repeat of this month's walkout of RMT and TSSA members, which shut down the majority of Zone 1 stations and caused havoc for commuters.
The unions had set a deadline of today for the dispute to be resolved and said more industrial action would take place if a solution wasn't found. So Londoners can now brace themselves for fresh travel headaches…
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The RMT has instructed all London Underground station and revenue members not to book on for shifts:
- After 18:00 on Sunday 5 February until 09:59 on Monday 6 February
- After 10:00 on Tuesday 7 February until 00:59 on Wednesday 8 February
Further strike dates for March are to be announced once they've been agreed.
Manuel Cortes, the TSSA's general secretary, said: "Our negotiating team has been having talks with London Underground at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service during the past fortnight.
"On Monday, we will be meeting with our LU workplace representatives to discuss the outcome of these discussions and decide our next steps. Until then, we will be making no further comment."
Mick Cash, RMT's general secretary, added: “RMT will not stand by while safety is compromised on London Underground off the back of cash-led cuts to staffing levels that the union has warned would have a serious, lasting and corrosive impact for staff and passengers alike. That is why our members are taking this further action.
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“RMT members on the London Underground stations see day in and day out the toxic impact of the job cuts programme and they are reporting back that it is horrific. It has now also been shown that at management level there is agreement with the union that the cuts have been a disastrous mistake.
The union said it remained available for further "serious talks".
Transport for London (TfL) has been approached for comment.
Yesterday, a separate walkout by RMT members over the movement of staff disrupted service on the Central and Waterloo & City Lines.