New strike threat on Tube

The threat of more strikes on the Tube increased dramatically today after London Underground management withdrew a pay increase they awarded only days ago.

At Acas, the conciliation service, LU increased its offer to the main unions from three to 3.2 per cent - but that included a "no strike" deal over pay. Union negotiators threw out the deal saying they would recommend strike ballots.

Now LU says that because they refused to accept the offer it is no longer on the table and they have reverted to the original three per cent.

Steve Grant, chief negotiator for Aslef, the train drivers' union, said management had deliberately hardened their attitude. He said they had adopted an "adversary nature" while refusing to go to mediation, where an independent arbiter would recommend a pay increase figure.

Mr Grant will meet Aslef leader Mick Rix later today to discuss the timing of a strike ballot. The RMT, largest of the Tube unions, ordered last week's 24-hour stoppage in an unrelated dispute.

It meets again on Thursday and is expected to recommend a similar ballot.

An LU spokeswoman said a two-year deal was offered with an increase of 3.2 per cent this year and at least three per cent for next, "in return for a commitment from the trade unions to develop and implement better ways of working together and no industrial action over pay. That was withdrawn because the unions would not commit."

She said there was no "pot of gold" to pay what the unions want. "We have refused to go to mediation because what is the point if we cannot afford to pay any more than we have already offered?" Any industrial action involving Aslef is guaranteed to stop the system. It was Aslef 's unofficial support of last week's strike over "safety", when drivers refused to cross picket lines, which resulted in so much disruption.

The deal would also have meant the union conceding on long-standing and unresolved issues over working conditions, including pensions. The unions and LU have already met three times at Acas, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, talks were taking place today between the local government employers and the three biggest publicsector unions to try to resolve their pay dispute. This has already resulted in one national 24-hour walkout by nearly a million council employees. Another is scheduled for next month and more after that.

The unions are demanding six per cent or £1,750, which ever is the greater, saying their local authority members include the lowest-paid workers in the country, with 275,000 earning under £5 an hour. The local government employers have offered three per cent, saying they cannot afford any more.