London Tube staff to hold second strike

LONDON;   London's Underground network will
shut down this week for the second time in two
months after talks again broke down in a dispute
over all night services trade union said Monday.

There will be no Tube train services from Wednesday
evening and all day on Thursday after three union
rejected  a revised offer  of terms and conditions
foe their staff

The walk out comes less than a month after a 24
hour strike in July saw the first total shut down
of the network since 2002 and will inevitable
cause major disruption  to millions of commuters
and tourists in the capital.

Union are locked  in better negotiations with London
Underground over plans by Mayor Boris Johnson
to run trains all night on Friday all night of
Friday and Saturday from September 12.

The drivers,union ASLEF urged the launch to
be postponed pending further talks,after accusing
management of being "completely inflexible
on terms and conditions.

"We genuinely regret the disruption  this (strike)
will cause " a statement issued by the union said.
"But the blame for this must rest with the pig-headed
determination of the major to insist on a September
launch instead of allowing more time for a negotiated
settlement to be reached.

Critics of the strike action point to the relatively
high salaries of Tube Staff ,but the union insist
the issue is mot about pay but about work -life
balance and safety---AFP