Sadiq Khan on Wednesday made an 11th hour appeal to the RMT union to call off Thursday’s Tube strike, warning it would have a “serious impact” on London’s economy.
The Mayor insisted he would “not support any unfair changes” to the Transport for London pension scheme — one of two issues at the heart of the strike, which will see the sixth 24-hour walkout on the Underground this year.
But the RMT said its 10,000 members had been left with no option but to continue their action, which will effectively shut down the Tube and cause knock-on chaos on Friday morning.
Overground trains and the Elizabeth line will run but may not call at some stations shared with the Tube.
The RMT said a compromise deal that would have led to the strike being suspended had been rejected out of hand by TfL negotiators on Tuesday.
But Mr Khan, in a statement to the Standard, said: “Nobody wants to see strike action and once again I urge the unions to call off this action and to work with TfL to find a resolution.”
Business groups said they had “no confidence” the strike would be the last, while transport experts said it would force Londoners back into cars.
The requirement to review the TfL pension scheme and find £100 million of annual savings was one of the conditions imposed by the Government in return for £6 billion of Covid bailout funds.
Mr Khan added: “I’ve been clear that punishing Londoners and London’s dedicated and brilliant transport workers is wrong. This is not something I wanted in the deal and I will not support any unfair changes to pensions that attack the terms and conditions of transport workers.
“At this stage, no decisions have been made and any reform would be subject to extensive consultation with all stakeholders, including TfL staff and trade unions.”
The RMT wanted TfL to pause the reduction in 500 to 600 staff posts until the end of the year and “make a clear statement” that it would not agree to “detrimental attacks” on pensions.
TfL says it has to cut staff numbers — by not replacing staff who depart voluntarily or retire — to help balance its books by next April.
The RMT has already held strikes on March 1 and 3, June 6 and 21 and August 19. Tube workers in the Unite union will also take action tomorrow.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our members are resolute in their determination to see a just settlement to this jobs and pensions dispute, and they will continue their industrial campaign for as long as it takes.”
TfL contributes about £330 million a year to the staff pension pot — down from £400 million when £100 million of savings were first suggested.
TfL told the Government last month that seeking £100 million of savings was “neither reasonable nor fair” and would lead to “an unacceptable level of detriment to members’ benefits and result in options that are significantly less generous than those available in comparable public sector schemes”.
The TfL pension fund had assets of £13 billion and was in surplus by £179m at the time of last year’s valuation. TfL insists the information in its 69-page “pensions option paper” submission last month “are not proposals for reform”.
Under the bail-out terms, Mr Khan and TfL are required to reach an agreement with the Government on “a final detailed proposal for any recommended changes to both future service benefits and past service liabilities” by January 31 next year.
