Tube bosses tried to bully workers into dropping their whole campaign against jobs cuts and ticket closures if they wanted London Underground (LU) to postpone the plans’ implementation, it was claimed yesterday.

A second wave of strikes by RMT union members will begin this evening on the network and are set to last 72 hours. 

But a negotiator for the RMT union accused LU bosses yesterday of “trashing” the chance of progress by issuing the demand over the strikes during last-ditch talks that took place all day on Friday.

A meeting between LU management and the union was mediated by Acas and ran smoothly into the afternoon, RMT regional organiser for London Underground John Leach claimed.

But by 4pm LU had had a change of heart and insisted that the cuts would only be postponed if the campaign linked to the industrial dispute was brought to an end, he alleged

Mr Leach said that dropping the Every Job Matters campaign would mean “to accept 953 jobs going, every ticket office closing, inadequate protection, 20 per cent lower pensionable salaries, a two-tier workforce and massive displacements.”

“I have never seen anything quite like this from management on the eve of strike action,” said Mr Leach.

Transport for London has informed trade unions that it is planning on saving £4.2 billion in the coming year as a result of government cuts. 

But ticket office closures and the 950 job cuts proposed by Transport for London (TfL) would only amount to 6 per cent of those savings. 

Trade unions believe that the remaining £3.9bn is to come from further, yet-to-be announced cuts. 

The union has requested that London Underground halt the cuts until a process of public consultation on Tube changes is completed.

Last week RMT staged the first of two strikes over bosses’ decision to renege on an agreement for a station-by-station review of planned closures.

During the meeting it was reiterated that TfL kept its promise to leave some ticket offices open at key stations and gives workers guarantees around pay and pension protection, Mr Leach claimed.

But he added that no offers were made by Underground management.