TWO 24-hour strikes by London Underground workers this week have been called off after negotiations between unions and Tube bosses.

Members of the Unite, RMT and TSSA unions had announced their members would walk out from 6.30pm tomorrow and again on Thursday.

The action threatened to cause a repeat of disruption on July 8 and August 6, when Essex commuters were among the passengers who suffered long delays in the capital.

The industrial dispute centres around staff rotas for the 24-hour weekend Tube, which is due to begin later this year.

The unions announced today they would suspend the strikes to allow further talks to take place.

Unite regional officer Hugh Roberts said: “There are still some remaining sticking points, but we feel sufficient progress has been made to suspend industrial action as an act of goodwill.

“We will continue to approach talks with London Underground in a positive manner.

“We trust that London Underground management seize this opportunity to reach a deal that fully addresses our members’ concerns and secures a successful future for night running on the Tube.”

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash warned further strikes would be called on September 8 and 10 if the dispute had not been settled.

He said: “Our negotiators have been able to make enough significant progress in talks at ACAS over pay, jobs and night Tube to allow us to suspend this week’s strike dates.

"We have still not reached a final agreement and as a result we are putting on additional strike action on next month. In the meantime, the talks process will continue."

TSSA leader Manuel Cortes said: "I am extremely pleased to say that our negotiating team has made sufficient progress to suspend this week's planned strike action on the Tube.

"However, we are not out of the woods yet. A number of issues need to be resolved before our dispute is finally settled.

"We will therefore announce future strike dates in due course although we remain hopeful that further talks will soon result in a negotiated settlement."