London Underground workers to strike for much of November after unions reject pay offer
Tube workers in London will strike next month in a dispute over pay, two unions have announced.
The strikes will take place from 1 to 16 November after members of both ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, and the RMT, representing most other Tube workers, rejected a pay offer from Transport for London (TfL).
London Underground drivers, instructors, managers, and engineers who are ASLEF members will strike across four days between 1 and 16 November.
They will also not work any overtime on different days, depending on their jobs.
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Maintenance and engineering staff, controllers, emergency responders, signallers and fleet and engineering staff who are members of the RMT union will also strike on various days between 1 and 8 November.
• Engineering drivers and maintenance staff will strike on 1 and 2 November – with no overtime until 8 November
• Track access controllers, control centre staff will strike from 6.59pm on 3 November to 6.59pm on 4 November
• Emergency response unit staff will strike all day on 4 November
• Fleet, engineering, stations and trains staff will strike all day on 5 November
• Signallers and service controllers will strike all day on 6 November
• Train drivers, instructors, and managers will strike on 7 and 12 November
• Managers will not work any overtime on 3 and 16 November
• Engineering drivers will be on an overtime ban on 1 and 8 November.
Commuters and tourists will not be able to use the Tube for much of November. Pic: PA
ASLEF members voted overwhelmingly for the action, with 98.8% wanting strike action, with a 68% turnout.
Finn Brennan, ASLEF’s London Underground organiser, 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 London Underground management won’t sit down properly and negotiate with us.”
He said Transport for London’s (TfL) pay offer of 3.8% plus a variable lump sum “means Underground drivers will stay on a lower salary than drivers on other TfL services while working longer hours”.
ASLEF said TfL management has refused to discuss key issues, including reducing the working week and introducing paid meal times to bring drivers in line with those working on the Elizabeth line and London Overground.
London’s roads become clogged during Tube strikes and buses are often packed. Pic: PA
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “No trade union can accept any pay proposal where management decide which of our members gets a pay rise and those who do not.”
“We remain open to negotiations, but London Underground must come back to the table with a comprehensive, consolidated offer that respects the rights of all our members. Until then, our industrial action will continue as planned.”
A TfL spokesperson said: “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% which rewards our staff for their hard work and benefits the lowest-paid staff the most.
“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, and we urge our unions to continue working with us to support London and the wider economy.”
A spokesman for Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “The mayor urges ASLEF and TfL to work together to avoid this industrial action.”
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Cabinet ministers are writing to the prime minister in an urgent attempt to soften some of the spending cuts being demanded ahead of the budget.
The main measures for the budget have to be decided by the end of Wednesday and sent to the Office for Budget Responsibility before the Treasury shuts up for the evening.
Sky News can confirm letters from cabinet ministers complaining about the budget have gone over the head of Chancellor Rachel Reeves to Sir Keir Starmer and Number 10.
Politics latest: Cabinet members deeply concerned over scale of cuts
Some of these letters are believed to have gone in over the last couple of days.
After today, only small changes can ordinarily be made to the budget, typically around involving items of tens or hundreds of millions rather than billions. The existence of the letters was first reported by Bloomberg.
Some cabinet ministers are deeply concerned about the scale of the cuts being demanded in some areas to fund pay rises and spending increases elsewhere.
It is understood that Number 10 has received complaints from four government departments: the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Department for Transport, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Justice.
Not all of these complaints were made through the medium of a letter.
It is understood the call for an intervention by Number 10 has helped soften a small portion of the cuts for some cabinet ministers’ departments.
But largely the shape of the budget, which is for the most part wrapped up tonight, has remained unchanged – and so have the nerves about how it will land in two weeks.
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Could chancellor ‘find’ more money?
At the weekend, Sky News revealed one cabinet minister said: “The briefing doesn’t match the reality. It’s pain this year, and pain next year. We’re simply going to be digging a hole which we end up filling in later in the year.”
Ms Reeves will loosen the borrowing rules in the budget in order to give herself more room for spending, along with raising up to £40bn in tax rises and welfare cuts in order to relieve pressure on budgets.
But the cost of significant public sector pay rises, which are still going to have to be found from within departmental budgets, mean cuts this year and next are still being demanded by the Treasury.
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Some ministers believe the cuts are unsustainable, while some have pointed to the first round of spending reductions announced before the summer – including the winter fuel allowance changes – as evidence more input from Number 10 is needed ahead of the budget and spending review on 30 October.
One government source told Sky News: “The whole of Number 10 is focused on the budget at the moment and there isn’t much bandwidth for anything else.”
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Government figures insist that letters voicing concern are routinely sent at this point in a spending review process and that this is all normal.
Both Sir Keir and Ms Reeves are out of the country next week, the week before the budget. However, only smaller changes can typically be made after today to the shape of it.
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