It will seek to persuade people to come to work and drive trains when they are ill and should be at home."A London Underground spokeswoman said the new payment was not meant to encourage strike-breaking and would only be available if drivers worked every shift for which they were rostered for the three months from this Friday. "It is aimed at alleviating absenteeism which has led to a driver shortage. We are simply trying to provide a better service for passengers."Meanwhile, RMT began balloting thousands of members yesterday on whether to stage a series of strikes in a long-running dispute over the role of guards on trains. The union is concerned that the safety duties of guards at 24 train operating companies are being watered down. Two rail firms, Thameslink and West Anglia Great Northern, are not involved because their trains run without guards. But RMT published a survey showing "deep opposition" from the public to this policy.Mr Crow said the survey showed people knew that guards saved lives.

He said the Paddington crash would have been worse without a guard on board the Great Western train. The ballot result will be announced next month.* Staff at the TSSA white collar rail union staged a 24-hour strike yesterday after its general secretary received a pay increase of 12 per cent, five senior officials between 8 and 10.5 per cent an staff nothing.. Evidence against four youths suspected of taking part in the killing of Damilola Taylor was handed to the Crown Prosecution Service. Evidence against four youths suspected of taking part in the killing of Damilola Taylor was handed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) yesterday. Senior lawyers are expected to decide within the next few weeks whether there is a strong enough case to bring charges against the suspects, aged between 12 and 16 years. Scotland Yard detectives have been investigating the youths, who have been under surveillance, for the past few months.A huge police operation was set up after the 10-year-old boy bled to death on a stairwell after being stabbed in the leg last November on an estate in Peckham, south-east London, while on his way home from an after-school computer club. One of the suspects named in the police files is a 15-year-old boy.

All the youths still live on, or visit, the North Peckham estate where Damilola was killed last November. They are said to be members of a street gang called the YP (Young Peckham) Boys.The CPS yesterday confirmed that Scotland Yard had given them several files on the Damilola case and that they expected further material this week. The material obtained by detectives is to be passed on to a senior barrister known as a treasury counsel ­ employed by the CPS ­ who will recommend whether there is enough evidence to bring a prosecution. The CPS may ask the police to obtain further information.The final decision on whether charges are brought will be made by a senior CPS lawyer. The Director of Public Prosecutions will be kept informed about the decision.As with other high profile the Metropolitan Police and the CPS are making every effort to ensure they do not slip up or present a weak case that fails in court. The huge publicity surrounding this process also acts as added pressure on the suspects.Damilola, who was born in Nigeria and moved to Britain with his mother, managed to crawl 100 yards before dying in a concrete stairwell.