London Underground services may be disrupted later this month, after RMT drivers voted in favour of a strike in protest at Transport for London proposals to introduce a four day working week.
Although the working week would be shorter shifts would be longer, and the union said it was concerned about the threat of fatigue.
More than nine out of ten RMT drivers voted for a strike, with 1082 saying ‘yes’, while 1113 were in favour of industrial action short of a strike, although ASLEF is reported to be welcoming the change.
The RMT told Railnews: ‘This is a fantastic ballot result and it is now up to TfL to take our members seriously. Our members will not accept TfL’s plan to condense the working week for tube drivers where shift patterns will become unpredictable leading to fatigue and increasing safety risks. A majority of tube drivers when asked have rejected these proposals. And our members are prepared to take industrial action if there is no change in course by TfL.’
An ASLEF source is quoted as saying: ‘It's a shame that the RMT leadership has decided to campaign against a proposal that gives drivers an extra 35 days off every year along with a reduction in days and hours at work on a voluntary basis.
‘The deal involves modest changes to current working arrangements for train drivers (some of which are beneficial for staff) but some senior RMT reps have deliberately misrepresented the proposal.
‘If the RMT are to call a strike on this issue, it will be the first time in history that a trade union has asked its members to strike to stop workers having a shorter working week with more time off for no loss of pay.’
Transport for London said: ‘We shared our proposal for a four-day working week with our trade unions last year. Since then, we have been engaging with them on how best to implement the new working pattern.
‘We have started talking with our unions about how to implement a four-day working week for train drivers on the Bakerloo line only.
‘The changes will be voluntary, there will be no reduction in contractual hours, and those who wish to continue a five-day working week pattern will be able to do so.
‘These changes will help us to improve reliability, improve our ability to flexibly deploy our drivers and enable us to offer a modern and efficient service while creating no additional cost.’
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