A PLANNED overtime ban on Southern railway by drivers' union Aslef has now been suspended to make time for further talks, according to the union.

Members would have started the ban on Sunday as part of the long-running dispute over the introduction of driver-only-operated trains.

Mick Whelan, Aslef's general secretary, said the change came after an earlier meeting with Southern.

He said train company had indicated it would be considering "a range of issues".

Aslef said it would discuss train drivers' terms and conditions, industrial relations and terms of pay.

Mr Whelan said that industrial action is always the last resort and that the union would much rather negotiate than take industrial action.

He said: "The company has indicated that it is prepared to negotiate with us on a range of outstanding issues and, therefore, we have suspended our overtime ban.

"We now have a fortnight to try and find a resolution."

Nick Brown, chief operating officer of Southern's parent company Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR), said: "We are pleased that Aslef has suspended the drivers' overtime ban.

"This will allow talks to continue, on a wide range of issues including pay.

"We aim to continue to find a way forward over the next few weeks and finally bring matters to a conclusion."

The drivers' union has been in a year-long dispute with Southern and its parent company GTR over the roles of train staff.

GTR replaced conductors with "on-board supervisors" to work across different services minus the responsibility of closing doors - which has now been assigned to train drivers.

Talks between Southern and the RMT union over the change of roles were adjourned last month.