Action over pay on the Tube

Transport unions Aslef and RMT are planning strikes over pay for their members on London Underground. In separate disputes both will be taking action in early November.

Aslef has said their drivers will walk out on 7 and 12 November. RMT has set out a series of stoppages between 1 and 8 November. Such walkouts typically close most, if not all, of the London Underground network, which carries about 4 million passengers on the busiest weekdays.

Inadequate

RMT members on London Underground include signals, engineering and control centre staff. They have rejected a pay offer which they see as wholly inadequate.

Some progress was made in negotiations, but the current proposal leaves a large number of staff excluded from collective bargaining. That remains a core issue for the union.

Threats

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “London Underground’s pay offer falls short of what our members deserve. It threatens to remove collective bargaining for a growing portion of staff, pushing them into pay bands that are decided solely by management. This undermines our members’ rights and the core principles of fair negotiation.

“No trade union can accept any pay proposal where management decide which of our members gets a pay rise and those who do not.”

Fixated

Lynch went on to say that Tube workers have been left no choice and will take strike action to defend terms and conditions as London Underground management is fixated on imposing pay structures without union agreement.

• Also union members of the TSSA – which represents managerial, technical and operational workers – are being consulted on a walk-out or other forms of industrial action with a ballot ending on Friday 18 October. TSSA has said that London Underground has made an offer which would see most grades receive a below-inflation pay rise.