Members of the RMT and ASLEF on London Underground are set to strike during November unless an agreement can be reached over pay.
The RMT said a pay offer is ‘wholly inadequate’, and many staff will continue to be excluded from collective bargaining. RMT staff will stage various stoppages between 1 and 8 November.
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.’
The strikes will involve train operators, instructors, managers and other staff, and ASLEF members are set to walk out 7 and 12 November. Engineering staff will strike separately for 24 hours from 18.00 on 1 November.
ASLEF organiser Finn Brennan said: ‘We don’t 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 management won’t sit down properly and negotiate with us.’
TfL said talks had been held in ‘good faith’, continuing: ‘We have held several constructive discussions with our trade unions and, after considering their feedback, have made a revised offer with an average uplift of 4.6 per cent, which rewards our staff for their hard work and benefits the lowest-paid staff the most.
‘Our offer is fair for our people and affordable for London, and we urge our unions to continue working with us to support London and the wider economy.’
Railnews understands further talks are to be held next week.