London Underground-RMT talks on Olympics pay deal stall

Talks between the RMT and London Underground about an Olympics pay deal have stalled as the union warned it would be "failing the travelling public" if it accepted an agreement that includes a bonus of up to £850 in exchange for a heavier workload.

The RMT, the tube network's biggest union, said its executive committee would consider its next move after the latest phase of talks at the Acas conciliation service ended without resolution.

London Underground (LU) said it had made progress with the underground's remaining unions – Unite, TSSA and Aslef – on a deal that will offer staff a bonus payment of up to £850.

The RMT's general secretary, Bob Crow, said his members would be "failing the travelling public" if they agreed to working practices outside of existing agreements and adopting "unsafe" procedures. Crow said staff were being asked to work "anytime, anyplace, anywhere at the drop of a hat".

He added: "We don't know if there has been political interference from behind the scenes but attempting to impose a whole raft of new strings on a tube Olympics agreement at this stage smacks of an attempt from somewhere to sabotage these talks when we had said in good faith that we wanted to move the negotiations forward."

A union source said preparation for a strike ballot "remains an option" for the RMT.

LU on Wednesday attempted to portray the RMT as being isolated from other unions over the Olympics. Howard Collins, LU's chief operating officer, said Unite and TSSA, as well as the Aslef drivers' union, had held constructive talks at Acas.

"Talks have progressed well with three unions … and we are optimistic that an agreement can be reached which will fairly reward staff over the London 2012 Games."

He added: "I urge the RMT to join us to resolve this issue and allow all of us to focus on the exciting challenge of delivering a great Games for London."

Bus drivers represented by Unite are also seeking increased payments for working during the Games.