Weekend strikes by train drivers on the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) have been called off, the Aslef union has announced.
More than 20 days of strikes were planned on weekends over the next few months, beginning on Saturday.
Aslef, which represents train drivers, planned to walk out after claiming there had been “a breakdown in industrial relations, bullying by management, and persistent breaking of agreements by the company”.
Train drivers on LNER were set to strike on Saturdays from 31 August to 9 November, as well as Sundays from 2 September to 10 November, over a dispute about the breaking of agreements on work practices.
The dispute is separate to the long-running pay row involving drivers across the country, which is likely to be settled after the Government made a new long-term pay offer.
Following the announcement of Aslef strike action earlier this month, the Government faced criticism after it already agreed with Aslef a bumper pay deal in the long-running pay row involving drivers across the country.
The deal, which is set to be voted on by the union, would involve a backdated 5 per cent increase for 2019-22, 4.75 per cent for 2022-24 and a further 4.5 per cent for 2024-25.
Aslef announced that the strike action had been suspended on Thursday after meetings were held between union members and the company, suggesting that drivers will report for duty as normal.
General secretary Mick Whelan said: “Once again we have demonstrated that by sitting round the table and negotiating, issues on the railway can be resolved in a way that means better workplace practices for rail workers and a better service for the travelling public.
“Aslef will continue to campaign for a fully staffed railway that doesn’t rely on excessive use of driver overtime.
“We continue to operate in good faith and we are pleased to have finally resolved this long-standing issue with LNER of abuse of our agreements. We look forward to normal working resuming.”
Ministers have rejected claims that the pay settlement with Aself will spark further industrial action in the public sector.
A separate offer to junior doctors is set to bring an uplift worth 22 per cent over two years.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has already signalled her intention to deliver above-inflation pay rises to about six million public sector workers, at a cost of £9bn-£10bn.
The Conservatives have claimed that if the Government agrees to other union demands, on top of the pay rises to teachers and NHS workers, the overall bill could rise by 40 per cent to about £13.9bn.