Tube drivers have voted massively in favour of going on strike in a bid to block the introduction of a four-day working week.
No strike dates have been announced yet but a walkout of drivers who belong to the RMT union would cause massive disruption to the London Underground, though may not result in a total shutdown.
RMT bosses have to give Transport for London two weeks’ notice of any strike action – meaning the earliest a walkout could take place would be mid-March, as no announcement is expected from the union today (Friday, February 27).
The RMT opposes the way TfL is proposing to introduce a voluntary four-day week for Tube drivers because it would lengthen the working day and raise concerns about fatigue.
But rival Tube drivers’ union Aslef is strongly in favour of the plans, which it regards as the “biggest improvement in working conditions for Underground train drivers in decades” and it would result in the equivalent of more than a month off.
A total of 1,082 RMT Tube drivers voted in favour of strike action, with 101 voting against – meaning 91 per cent of members who voted supported a walkout.
A slightly higher number – 1,113 – backed action short of a strike. A total of 1,801 RMT members were entitled to take part in the ballot, meaning that 60 per cent of all members backed taking strike action.
The RMT told its members that the four-day week would result in "longer, more extreme shifts", increased weekend working and cause "hell for new and junior drivers".
An RMT spokesperson told The Standard: “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.”
In a message to RMT members, union general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Both of the results exceed the required thresholds and the [union’s] national executive committee has wholeheartedly congratulated members on delivering a ballot mandate for strike action and action short of a strike.”
However, an Aslef source said: “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!”
A TfL spokesperson 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.”
At present, Tube drivers, who earn about £75,000 a year, are contracted to work a 35-hour week over five days.
However most work 36 hours in practice – and remain at work for additional two-and-a-half hours to have a 30-minute daily unpaid meal break, meaning they have a typical 38.5-hour week, or a daily shift that lasts a total of seven hours 42 minutes.
Under the four-day proposals, drivers’ shifts would last eight hours 30 minutes, 48 minutes more than at present.
But this would include a 30-minute meal break – which would be paid for the first time.
Drivers who wanted to remain on a five-day week would be able to do so.
TfL only drew up the proposals for a four-day week as part of an agreement struck to end a previous Tube strike.
TfL has proposed launching a four-day-week pilot scheme on the Bakerloo line before rolling it out to other lines, but this has yet to start.
Only Tube drivers would be able to work a four-day week. Other London Underground staff, such as station staff, would remain on five-day shift patterns.
A five-day strike by the RMT last September lost TfL between £20m and £25m in fares income.
The RMT has 10,400 members working on the Underground. A previous ballot of its entire Tube membership in December failed to generate a mandate for network-wide strike action, though 90 per cent of its drivers were in favour.
In contrast, 1,107 Aslef members out of 1,585 who took part in its ballot on the four-day week voted yes – almost 70 per cent in favour.
There are about 3,600 Tube drivers on the Underground, with membership split between the two unions.
Should a strike be called, it would be unlikely to not close the Underground as not all 10,400 RMT members would be able to take part, though many may refuse to cross picket lines.
Union leaders choose specific dates to cause maximum inconvenience or political embarrassment, meaning that a strike on Wednesday March 18 could be one possibility as it would coincide with the next TfL board meeting.
Four-day working week arrangements are common across the national rail industry and are already in place on the London Overground and Elizabeth line, both of which are overseen by TfL under contracts with private operators.
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