Cameron says 24-hour London 'Tube' strike is unacceptable

LONDON (Reuters) - A strike by staff and drivers on London's underground train network later on Wednesday, which is set to chaos travel misery for millions of commuters, is "unacceptable and unjustified", a spokeswoman for Prime Minister David Cameron said. Members of four unions are due to walk out for 24 hours from Wednesday evening, bringing trains to a halt in a dispute over plans for a new night service on the world's oldest underground passenger railway, widely known as the "Tube." They are unhappy with the pay and terms offered by London Underground (LU) to implement a 24-hour service at weekends on some lines. Cameron's spokeswoman said: "We are very clear that it is unacceptable and unjustified. It is going to hit families, workers, and businesses across the capital." Members from three unions representing station staff, the RMT, TSSA and Unite, will begin the strike at 17.30 GMT on Wednesday. Three hours later they will be joined by members of Aslef which represents train drivers. The action will bring the entire network to a standstill, and transport bosses warned services would become "exceptionally" crowded in the hours beforehand. On Tuesday, unions rejected a final offer from LU bosses over night-time services, which included an average 2 percent pay rise, a 2,000 pound ($3,070) "transition bonus" for night-time drivers and a 500-pound one-off payment. "Despite strenuous efforts by union negotiators to press London Underground to address the issues of fairness, safety, work\life balance and equality at the heart of this dispute they have come up with nothing," said RMT General Secretary Mick Cash. The strike is the first major walkout since Cameron regained power in May, promising his new government would bring in laws to make it harder for those working in essential public services, such as transport, to take industrial action. "The government has been very clear that it will make reforms in those areas and remains as committed to those today as it was before the strike was called," his spokeswoman said. London Mayor Boris Johnson told the BBC it was wrong London was being held to ransom and urged the unions to accept the deal. But Jeremy Corbyn, a candidate for the opposition Labour Party's leadership, tabled a parliamentary motion calling for the Mayor to withdraw the imposition of night working, saying staff were being treated in a "disgraceful" manner. (Reporting by Michael Holden; additional reporting by Kylie MacLellan; editing by Stephen Addison)