Tube strike suspended after talks

LONDON (Reuters) - A three-day strike on the London Underground rail network that caused chaos on Tuesday for million of commuters has been suspended after 30 hours following peace talks, the RMT union said.

"The action that was to continue to Thursday has been suspended," union leader Bob Crow told Reuters. "But the action planned for next week is still on while we consult with our members.

"We believe that what we have on the table now satisfies us where we are at this moment in time. We got bigger assurances on pensions and we got bigger assurances on jobs."

About 2,300 staff at collapsed contractor Metronet walked out at 6 p.m. on Monday in a row over jobs and pensions.

Transport for London (TfL), which runs the Tube network, said it welcomed the suspension of the strike but stressed that it had offered nothing new to the striking workers.

Many of the 3 million passengers who use the Tube each day were forced to find alternative routes to work on Tuesday and the city's buses were packed.

Although the strike was suspended, commuters were still expected to face severe problems on Wednesday since many trains would be in the wrong places and striking staff might also not be able to get to work as a result.

"We will now work to provide the best possible tube service on Wednesday. However, as the strike was suspended so late this evening it will take time for us to restore a full service," a TfL spokesman said.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Tuesday for the workers to end their stoppage.

"This is a wholly unjustifiable strike," he said at his monthly news conference. "It is causing an enormous amount of trouble to the people of London and disruption to the business of this city.

"They should get back to work as quickly as possible."

The RMT says it wants guarantees that the collapse of Metronet will not lead to job losses or pension cuts.

It went under in July after banks denied it access to funds amid a projected overspend of 2 billion pounds ($4 billion).

Metronet is responsible under a 30-year public-private partnership contract for the infrastructure of nine Tube lines.

TfL and London Mayor Ken Livingstone say they have given the union guarantees over jobs.

A second 72-hour strike is due to start on September 10.