The RMT Union has suspended strikes set to take place on the London Underground (LU) this week after, what it calls, significant progress was made in talks with LU management. 

More than 3,000 members of the union were set to take action on 4 and 6 October, but the RMT leadership has called off action, saying it had managed to save jobs and secure protection of earnings in its negotiations with London Underground Limited, a subsidiary of Transport for London (TfL) that operates the LU network. 

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “I congratulate all our members who were prepared to take strike action and our negotiations team for securing this victory in our tube dispute. 

"Without the unity and industrial power of our members, there is no way we would have been able to make the progress we have.” 

However, while the union has made progress in those key areas, it said that negotiations are still continuing around jobs, pensions and working agreements. 

The news was welcomed by TfL, which said that it was pleased that the union had withdrawn its planned action.

Nick Dent, director of customer operations for LU, said: “This is good news for London and we will continue to work closely with our trade unions as we evolve London Underground to ensure we can continue to support the capital in the most effective way.”

Strikes on the LU were originally set to coincide with action by train drivers across the UK represented by ASLEF. While the LU network will now be unaffected, the wider UK rail network will continue to see disruption as the drivers' union calls on Transport Secretary Mark Harper to help resolve their dispute with rail operators during the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester. 

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan (of the opposition Labour Party) also seemed to hint at the ongoing strikes with other rail operators when celebrating RMT’s move to cancel its action, saying: “This is what you can achieve when you work with, not against, unions.”