Tube passengers have been handed a potential boost by the drivers’ union Aslef advising its members to accept a 5% pay rise and not to go on strike.
Transport for London made the “full and final” one-year offer to 16,000 London Underground staff last week, with the amount being backdated to April if a deal can be agreed.
The development will come as a relief to Mayor Sadiq Khan and appears to maintain a “ceasefire” between TfL and the unions that has recently resulted in strikes being averted at the 11th hour after deals were struck on pensions and station staffing levels.
A network-wide strike by Aslef is guaranteed to shut the Tube as no trains are able to run.
Aslef’s leaders told union members that the pay offer, on top of an 8.4 per cent rise last year, equated to a 13.8 per cent rise over two years, and would mean a full-time driver earning an extra £3,195 this year. Full-time Tube drivers currently earn almost £64,000.
Aslef members will now be asked in a referendum whether they accept the deal. However, a no vote would lead to an immediate strike ballot.
The other main Tube union, the RMT, is due to consider the offer next week, with some of its more militant members urging it to be rejected and for strike action to follow. It may be a couple of weeks before the RMT executive decides how to proceed.
In a message to Aslef members, the union’s London organiser Finn Brennan and executive committee member Gary Comfort said it was “disappointing” that TfL was not able to increase the pay offer beyond five per cent, having offered four per cent initially.
They said TfL had told the union that it was unable to increase the offer – or offer a multi-year deal – because of the constraints of its Government bailout, which ends next March.
And they pointed out that the five per cent offer was better than the four per cent being offered by train firms involved in the national rail dispute.
Mr Brennan and Mr Comfort wrote: “The consensus of the meeting was that although the offer falls below our aspirations, our members should be given the opportunity to have their say on the offer via a referendum.
“The alternative is long-lasting strike action to attempt an increase of the five per cent for all grades. (Pay talks on London Underground are not just for drivers, they cover all grades)
“Mainline train operating companies have offered just four per cent, tied to a huge number of changes to agreements and members have taken around 15 days of strike action so far to try to achieve a better outcome.
“If the offer is accepted by our members we will be submitting our claim for 2024 early in the new year. London Underground won’t also be shackled by the government funding arrangement after March 31st 2024.
“If the offer is rejected, we will immediately ballot for a series of strikes.
“Based on the consensus of the meeting, the negotiating team will now report to the national executive committee with a recommendation that a referendum of our members is held with a recommendation to accept the offer.”
