Union Boss Says No Night Tube This Year

Speaking on a business trip to Japan, the London mayor said he hoped a pay and conditions offer, which he described as a “great deal”, will be communicated “properly” to staff following the latest setback.

Drivers’ union Aslef and transport workers’ group RMT said that they had walked away because TfL was rejecting all “fair” proposals.

Union leaders complained that Underground management had “completely mishandled these negotiations”, describing how the situation had descended into “crisis management”. “They have wasted every opportunity for a settlement and seem to have been determined to provoke confrontation rather than resolution”. Copenhagen offers a driverless all-night Metro service from Thursday to Sunday, and Berlin’s U-bahn runs for 24-hours on the weekend.

The delay would be another setback for TfL after it pushed back the Night Tube’s original launch date of 12 September amid the threat of strikes from the unions.

A spokesperson for TfL said the night tube is not only backed by the majority of Londoners but will create 2,000 new permanent jobs and boost the economy by £360 million.

LU claims the Night Tube is needed to deal with huge demand from passengers, especially at weekends, and is “pivotal” to the city’s economy.

“That’s why we have made cast-iron guarantees that no one will work any more hours than they do today, drivers will have the same number of weekends off as now and, in future, staff will be able to choose whether they work Night Tube shifts at all”.

Sadiq Khan, Labour nominee for Mayor of London, tweeted: “Delayed night tube very frustrating for Londoners”.

Talks aimed at reaching an agreement broke down yesterday with unions and management blaming each other.

‘There are no further talks planned at this current time.

“Boris needs to pull his finger out and get round the table with the unions to negotiate a solution to this sorry state of affairs”.

Previously promised for September 2015, talks between union bosses and Transport for London have stalled for a second time.