A New Year's Eve strike on the London Underground is to go ahead after talks failed to resolve a dispute over the assignment of new staff and working schedules.

At noon on Saturday more than 4,000 Underground workers will participate in the 24-hour strike in which the entire network will be shut down.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said the strike would "do nothing other than spoil a great night for hundreds of thousands of Londoners".

He added the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), who planned the strike, were "getting a 35-hour week with no loss of pay and no reduction in staffing".

The RMT shunned talks with London Underground (LU) on Thursday, saying LU had rejected its offer to suspend the strike in return for a hold on the introduction of new rosters, which are feared could compromise safety.

Bob Crow, general secretary of RMT, said it was "almost beyond belief" that LU had turned down its offer.

He was also quoted as saying the deal "would have allowed services to run on New Year's Eve and given us the room for in-depth discussions to take place later."

The union has also called a 24-hour strike from 18.30 on Sunday, January 8, to 18:30 on Monday, January 9.

(Xinhua News Agency December 31, 2005)