#tubestrike. Pic: CGP Grey

RMT and TSSA unions reached a deal with London Underground over controversial plans to close all Tube ticket offices and and cut 960 jobs . Therefore, the 48-hour strike action due to start tonight at 9pm has been called off.

A TSSA spokesman said: “We have now agreed a process where all our serious concerns over safety and job losses will be seriously addressed through the normal channels.”

“We are obviously pleased that we have agreed this process, which will allow us to suspend our strike immediately, and cancel it later when the agreement reaches us in a formal document.”

Last week’s strike caused travel chaos throughout the capital, which resulted in the loss of working hours, business and productivity.

Even though no Underground lines run through the area, business activities in south east London were negatively affected as well, with cancelled meetings being the main problem for almost two thirds of firms, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).