Tube strike: Third union to join walk outs over night services

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-35350033

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A third union has said it will join strikes on the London Underground (LU) in a row about Night Tube services.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) said its members will join three 24-hour stoppages.

Members of Aslef and the Rail, Maritime and Transport union are set to walkout from the evenings of 26 January and 15 and 17 February.

An LU spokesman said it has recruited extra staff for Night Tube and its four-year pay deal was extremely fair.

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TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: "TSSA members want to go forward and deliver a safe 21st Century Tube system befitting our great world city but they fear [London Mayor] Boris Johnson's management of the Tube is taking it back to 19th Century deregulated safety standards and working practices.

"If management efforts to change shift rosters go ahead, more Tube workers will be forced to work more and more back-to-back shifts - up to 18 hours at a time, without a minimum days-off requirement to recover from the fatigue.

"Fatigued workers are as dangerous in a Tube station as fatigued doctors in a hospital: they will make mistakes that cost lives."

Steve Griffiths, chief operating officer for LU, said: "Our four-year pay offer is extremely fair and we have gone the extra mile to fully protect work-life balance, including hiring 700 new staff for the night Tube.

"This means that we are delivering the total protection of our staff that the unions have asked for."

A fourth Tube union, Unite, has suspended its strikes to allow further talks to go ahead.

Further talks between all the parties are due to continue this week.