Boost For Arsenal + Liverpool Fans As TSSA Union Calls Off Planned Tube Strike

Arsenal, Manchester United, Fulham, Liverpool, West Ham and Norwich fans have been handed a timely boost with the news that tonight’s planned London underground tube strike looks set to be cancelled following talks.

The TSSA (Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association) and RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport) unions had threatened to strike for 48 hours starting at 9pm tonight over a dispute regarding the closure of ticket offices on the London Underground which would see around 950 jobs lost.

The strike would also have seen tomorrow night’s football matches at the Emirates Stadium, Craven Cottage and Upton Park severely affected with fans obviously unable to use the tube to make their way to the stadiums.

Arsenal had already confirmed that their home clash with Manchester United would be going ahead regardless of the planned strike action, but had advised fans to allow plenty of time to get to the ground and to either walk – which could take up to an hour – or use alternative public transport.

Fulham on the other hand were threatening to postpone their game with Liverpool if the proposed strike went ahead as they felt it would endanger the safety of supporters. With Liverpool on a high following their 5-1 win over the Gunners on Saturday, the last thing they would have wanted was the game to be called off and owner J W Henry had already voiced his frustration at Fulham’s decision to potentially postpone the match.

So all clubs will be relieved to hear that the TSSA has confirmed that they have accepted a proposal following talks with Transport for London this morning and their union members wont be taking part in the tube strike. They announced the decision on Twitter:

“We’ve suspended #tubestrike as have agreed a process where all our serious concerns over safety & job losses can be addressed

Pleased that agreement on process lets us suspend #tubestrike immediately & cancel it later when agreement reaches us formally

Our members won’t be taking part in strike action.  Talks between TfL & both unions concluded with a proposal. We’ve accepted it & RMT will decide this afternoon.”

The RMT is currently assessing the proposal and will make a decision this afternoon, but it would be surprising if they didn’t follow suit and agree to postpone to strike as anything else would be a lack of solidarity with TSSA. We’ll keep you update on RMT’s decision.