Sadiq Khan has said he is “confident” that Tube strikes planned by unions to take place in the first half of November will be called off.
The mayor said Transport for London (TfL) was engaged in talks with both the RMT and Aslef unions and he was “hopeful” that their demands could be negotiated “amicably”.
Aslef, the drivers’ union, has called two 24-hour strikes on November 7 and 12, while the RMT has told its members – who include drivers, signallers and station staff - to walk out on different days between November 1 and 8.
Mr Khan told the Standard on Friday: “I don’t want strikes. The trade unions don’t want to strike. TfL doesn’t want strikes. Londoners don’t want strikes.
“The way to resolve these things is to get round the table and resolve them amicably… Earlier on this year, one of the trade unions was threatening a week’s worth of strikes - we resolved those amicably. In the spring, there were threats of strike action and we resolved those amicably. I’m hopeful and confident we’ll resolve these as well.”
The mayor was referring to strike action threatened by the RMT in January this year - which was averted after Mr Khan decided to use £30m of City Hall funding, enabling pay negotiations to restart.
Asked whether he may have to find a similar sum of money to avert November’s strikes, the mayor played down the significance of funding alone, saying: “I think the trade unions have said they’re not [just] after additional remuneration in their wages - there’s a package of measures they want to be responded to, and those packages of measures are what TfL and the trade unions will be discussing.”
The RMT has said it wants a new pay offer to be applied consistently to all of its members, rather than only some staff receiving it through TfL’s use of pay banding.
Aslef is meanwhile seeking to reach a new pay agreement with London Underground, which has offered a 3.8 per cent pay rise and a variable lump sum, according to reports. The union is concerned that the offer would leave members on a lower salary than drivers on other TfL services, such as the Elizabeth line and Overground.
Separately, RMT members have voted in favour of action short of a strike due to noise levels on the Victoria line.
The union’s members plan to reduce train speeds to below 50mph in order to lessen the screeching sounds created by the wheels on the track.
Mr Khan said: “I understand the concerns raised by the trade unions and I’ve discussed this with them.
“We had to slow down the pace of remediation [work to make the tracks smoother and less noisy] because of the pandemic, and then had financial problems. Frankly speaking, we had to reduce it [the remediation work].
“We didn’t have a capital deal. The capital deal we have from the Government last year is only £250m. It’s a lot of money, but it’s not enough. We spend about £2bn on capital.
“So what we’re trying to do is invest in the remediation work required - we’re doing that. The pace of progress isn’t what I’d like it to be, but I’d ask the trade unions to bear with me.
“I understand the complaints they’ve got. It’s raised not just by those who work in the Tubes, it’s raised by passengers and I suffered it myself today using the Victoria line. So I get it, and we’ll try and work with the trade unions to resolve this.”
