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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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “rebuilding” the party as she marks her first year in the job.
Ms Badenoch also said she had spent the last 12 months “giving the country a serious alternative to Labour’s weakness: a plan for a stronger economy and stronger borders”.
The leader, who was elected on 2 November last year when she defeated Robert Jenrick, said on Sunday she was “rebuilding our party, our principles and our plan for Britain”.
She came to the helm after a leadership contest, triggered by Rishi Sunak’s resignation in the wake of the 2024 general election drubbing.
Pic: PA
But despite starting to craft a new Tory policy platform, she has been criticised by anonymous MPs who are disappointed the Conservatives do not appear to be cutting through with voters.
And she has seen some senior party figures defect to Reform UK, including ex-Conservative chairman Jake Berry, former Welsh secretary David Jones, and Tory MP Danny Kruger.
Ms Badenoch also continues to face the challenge of ambitious frontbenchers who appear to be plotting potential future leadership bids, including shadow justice secretary Mr Jenrick.
Despite her insistence that the party is providing a credible alternative to the Labour government, the latest polling from YouGov suggested voters are yet to be convinced by Ms Badenoch, with just 12% believing she is a prime minister in waiting, while 62% do not.
But Ms Badenoch appeared adamant in her approach as she faced down the critics.
She said: “This first year of my leadership has been about rebuilding. Rebuilding our party, our principles and our plan for Britain.
“After defeat in 2024, we faced a choice: retreat into slogans, or rebuild around values. We chose to rebuild.
“The Conservative Party now stands once again for what made Britain strong in the first place – responsibility, fairness, competence and pride in our nation.”
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A majority of Conservative members, 54%, do believe she is doing a good job as party leader, while 24% say she has done a bad job, the YouGov survey found.
Pollsters have also suggested the Tories are less popular than the Liberal Democrats, as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK continues to lead with the public.
In May, the Conservatives suffered heavy defeats in the local elections, as Ms Badenoch apologised to her party over the result.
In October at her first Conservative party conference as leader, she made the surprise announcement the Tories would scrap stamp duty, a tax paid by house buyers, on the purchase of their main homes.
It gave the Conservatives and their leader a much-needed lift after what many have dubbed the lost year.
But backbench Tories could soon hold Ms Badenoch’s future in their hands, as a grace period stopping them from submitting letters expressing no confidence in her expires once her first year in office is complete.
Bob Blackman, who as chairman of the 1922 Committee acts as a conduit for Conservative backbenchers, said he believed Ms Badenoch’s slow and steady approach had been the correct one.
However, Labour said that “one year in, Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives have shown themselves incapable of change or learning lessons from the past”.
Party chairwoman Anna Turley said: “They crashed the economy, sent mortgages rocketing and left NHS waiting lists at record highs.”
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