This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

London Underground (LU) has made a last-minute offer to try to avert a strike that will cause travel chaos for millions of passengers.

Southern rail, London Underground and BA staff to go ahead with strikes Read more

The move came on the fourth day of talks between the company and officials from the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA). No details were given of the offer.

Union members are due to walk out for 24 hours from 6pm on Sunday in a dispute over jobs and ticket office closures.

The TSSA said it will consult with its representatives overnight before deciding whether to call off the action. The RMT delegation had left the meeting at Acas, the conciliation service, before the offer was made.

In a message to RMT members, regional organiser John Leach said that the talks had “failed” and the strike will go ahead. “We saw LU face to face and reiterated our position on the key issues of the dispute. We demanded that they guarantee the staffing of all station control rooms. We demanded that the current offer of 150 additional jobs be significantly improved and guaranteed to not be lowered under any circumstances.

“LU’s response was to repeat their offer of yesterday. This is just not acceptable. The unsafe practices and pressure on staff and passengers have to be resisted and will be.”

An RMT spokesman told the Press Association that the hundreds of job cuts agreed by Boris Johnson, London’s former mayor, had been a “disaster” and should be reversed. “The cuts have gone too far and it is the staff who are highlighting the impact on moving millions of people every day.”

A spokesman for the RMT said more than 800 jobs had been lost under the so-called Fit for the Future programme, adding that LU was only offering to reinstate 150. The RMT added that London Underground was refusing to reopen any of the closed ticket offices.

The TSSA’s general secretary, Manuel Cortes, said: “London Underground [has] made us a new offer. We will now share its contents with our reps and seek their views overnight.”

A spokesman for Transport for London said: “Talks have concluded for the day. We have made a proposal to the unions and we await their response.”

The RMT has more members on the tube than the TSSA.

Transport for London has advised passengers that there will be a severely reduced service across the tube network on Sunday evening and all day on Monday if the strike goes ahead.

An Acas spokesman said: “Talks have now adjourned. The parties have no plans to return to Acas.”