London Underground workers to strike over pay in November

Workers on the London Underground, including tube drivers, plan to stage a series of strikes in November amid a dispute over pay.

Members of the Aslef union, whose 2,000 members include tube drivers and instructors as well as those in management and engineering, will take action on different days during the first half of November.

The union said train operators and managerial employees would strike on 7 and 12 November, while engineering staff would stop work for 24 hours from 6pm on 1 November. Different groups of workers will also ban overtime at different times in November.

The Aslef strike will coincide with planned stoppage by London Underground (LU) workers belonging to the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), including signalling and station staff, on various days between 1 and 8 November, after they rejected a “wholly inadequate” pay offer.

Finn Brennan, Aslef’s full-time organiser on London Underground, said the workers did not want to go on strike.

“We don’t want to make travelling in and around the capital more difficult for passengers and we don’t want to lose a day’s pay – but we have been forced into this position because LU management won’t sit down properly and negotiate with us,” Brennan said.

“Our members voted by over 98% in favour of strike action, but underground management are still refusing to even discuss key elements of our claim. They refuse to discuss any reduction in the working week or introducing paid meal relief to bring underground drivers in line with those on the Elizabeth line and London Overground.”

Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of trade body UKHospitality, said: “This is incredibly disappointing and will have a significant impact on London hospitality and tourism businesses – hitting two key trading days. [It] impacts our customers, our workers and the economy as a whole. We urge all sides to come to reach a sensible and early resolution.”

Aslef said a pay offer of 3.8%, plus a variable lump sum, meant drivers on the London Underground would stay on a lower salary than drivers on other Transport for London (TfL) services, while they worked longer hours.

Planned action by RMT workers will begin on 1 November with a strike by maintenance workers, and will continue across other groups of staff until 8 November.

The RMT said some progress had been made in negotiations, although it said London Underground’s pay offer excluded a large number of staff.

“London Underground’s pay offer falls short of what our members deserve,” said the RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch. “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.”

The RMT said about 10,000 of its members were involved in the dispute. Lynch added that the RMT remained “open to negotiations” but called on London Underground to return to the table “with a comprehensive, consolidated offer”.

Scheduled tube strikes have been called off before taking place in recent months.

An Aslef strike planned for May was called off in April after the union said a proposal from Transport for London resolved the key issues in the dispute.

Rail passengers saw some respite from industrial action after Aslef and RMT members voted in September to accept pay offers, ending a long-running national dispute that had disrupted services for more than two years.

A TfL spokesperson said: “It is disappointing that Aslef and the RMT have announced industrial action following our recent discussions over pay, terms and conditions … We are engaging with our unions in good faith, having increased our offer since talks began, and have invited our unions to meet again next week. Our offer is fair for our people and affordable for London.”