Night Tube: TSSA to agree pay deal with London Underground over new all-night weekend service

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) are the latest London Underground (LU) union to signal they are set to make a deal with management regarding the much-delayed weekend Night Tube service. A spokeswoman for the rail union, which represents workers on the network, told IBTimes UK that officials have agreed to recommend the pay offer to their members.

However, representatives for TSSA members in service-control sections have not yet made a decision on the issue. However, they are expected to agree to back a deal sometime this week and, according to the spokeswoman, "shortly draw a line under" the dispute. "Talks to resolve issues over health, safety and training at stations would continue over the next month, and TSSA reps remain in dispute while outstanding issues are addressed," the spokeswoman added.

The move comes after the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers' (RMT) executive committee and representatives for the drivers' union Aslef backed management's latest pay offer. The decisions mean that the unions would have to put the offers to their members and hold a vote on the issue. Unite, which represents around 600 workers on the network, rejected the pay deal. But Hugh Roberts, one of the union's negotiators, has called for further talks with management.

The Night Tube, which would run across four major lines all night at weekends, was expected to launch in September 2015, but the dispute pushed its roll-out date back.

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Steve Griffiths, LU's chief operating officer, told IBTimes UK that Londoners should expect the service to launch in 2016 as part-time drivers are recruited and trained. The RMT recently called off a planned 48-hour-long strike for 6 February over a separate jobs dispute relating to the Fit for Future Stations programme. However, Underground maintenance workers signed up to the union still plan to walk out seven times between February and June in a safety row.