27.08.15
LU confirms delay to Night Tube launch
London Underground (LU) has officially announced it is to “defer” the launch of Night Tube, to allow the “conclusion of talks with unions, including agreement on rosters”.
Night Tube was due to launch on 12 September, but LU has now said it plans to launch the service “this autumn” in an attempt to avoid further strike action.
Earlier this week, following two weeks of talks, trade union RMT suspended strike action planned for 25 and 27 August over Night Tube disputes – but it did call for further walkouts on 8 and 10 September.
LU managing director, Nick Brown, said that after progress made in recent days with the trade unions and the suspension of the strikes, LU believes it is not far from an agreement that protects the work-life balance of employees and is “affordable, sustainable and fair”.
“As such, we have decided to defer the introduction of Night Tube to allow more time for those talks to conclude. Our objective is to reach an agreement that ends this dispute and delivers the Night Tube for Londoners this autumn,” said Brown.
Train drivers’ union Aslef added that the decision, which has been an open secret on the railway, and indeed was already reported by RTM, gives everyone the time and space to negotiate properly on the introduction of the Night Tube in the capital.
Mick Whelan, the union’s general secretary, said: “Aslef believes that a world-class capital city like London needs a 24-hour Tube service. But not at the expense of the work-life balance of our members.
“It has to be done in a way that works for London Underground, for passengers, and also for the drivers who deliver this service every day.”
Mick Cash, RMT general secretary, said the union welcomed the move which is what it has been calling for “ever since we went into dispute over the Night Tube issue”.
“This move by TfL proves that our members were right to strike and were right to warn the public about the consequences of the mad rush to introduce the Mayor’s Night Tube plans without agreement.
“The fact that the plans have now been suspended indefinitely to some vague date ‘in the autumn’ is clearly a massive embarrassment to both Boris Johnson and George Osborne but gives us an opportunity to now get the basics that should have been sorted months ago worked out through direct negotiation,” said Cash.
“In the meantime, our action scheduled for early September remains on.”