‘Militant’ union bosses have been accused of holding Londoners ‘hostage’ as Tube drivers on £72,000-a-year prepare to cripple the capital with yet another strike.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union ( RMT ) has confirmed its members will walk out from 12pm for 24 hours tomorrow and again on Thursday, promising misery for millions of commuters and an estimated £250million hit to the economy.
The Piccadilly and Circle lines will be completely shut during the industrial action while sections of the Metropolitan and Central lines will also be closed. All other lines are expected to have a reduced service for at least four days.
Union leaders are resisting introduction of a four-day working week, which they claim could increase fatigue and compromise safety. But Transport for London (TfL) has insisted the changes are voluntary and called the walkouts ‘absolutely unnecessary’.
Train drivers’ union Aslef has accepted the changes, which would see the average driver’s working week reduce from 36 hours to 35 .
Susan Hall, head of the Conservative group at the London Assembly, today called on London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan to take action to avert the walkout.
‘Sadiq Khan said he would see no strikes,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘Now he’s sitting back and doing absolutely nothing while Londoners are left to suffer again. The Mayor and the Labour government give into the unions all the time.’
Shadow Transport Secretary Richard Holden accused Sir Sadiq of letting union militants ‘call the shots’.
‘Sir Sadiq Khan promised zero strikes, but London is being crippled while the militant backers of Labour MPs, the RMT, call the shots,’ he told The Standard.
‘Conservatives warned this would happen. Yet Labour still won’t stand up to their union paymasters as passengers and taxpayers deal with the fallout.’
A Tube driver earns around £71,170 per year as a base salary, with total earnings often reaching £75,000 to £80,000 when overtime and allowances are included.
Most are enrolled into the TfL pension fund, which requires drivers to pay in 5 per cent of their salary for an employer contributions of more than 33 per cent. Other perks include free TfL travel and 75% off train season tickets.
Tube drivers do not require prior qualifications other than GCSEs in maths and English and training takes around six months.
Simon French, chief economist at independent investment bank Panmure Liberum, has estimated the cost of the strikes as £210million.
He said: ‘Whilst Londoners have shown admirable adaptation to their work patterns to deal with strike disruption, there is still a core of workers who can’t work at home, or adjust their commute.
‘The cost is another own goal in an economy struggling for growth.’
On most Underground lines, the trains are semi-autonomous. This means a machine handles stopping and starting, with drivers operating doors and handling emergencies.
Laila Cunningham, Reform UK’s candidate for Mayor of London, called for more automation on the Tube to cut costs and disruption.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said: ‘We have approached negotiations with TfL in good faith throughout this entire process, but despite our best efforts, TfL seem unwilling to make any concessions in a bid to avert strike action.
‘This is extremely disappointing and has baffled our negotiators.
‘The approach of TfL is not one which leads to industrial peace and will infuriate our members who want to see a negotiated settlement to this avoidable dispute.’
TfL said services will vary across lines and urged passengers to check before they travel.
Some bus routes in the capital operated by Stagecoach will be affected by a separate 24-hour strike from 5am on Friday.
Claire Mann, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: ‘We have set out proposals to the RMT for a four-day working week.
‘This allows us to offer train operators an additional day off, whilst at the same time bringing London Underground in line with the working patterns of other train operating companies, improving reliability and flexibility at no additional cost.
‘The changes would be voluntary, there would be no reduction in contractual hours and those who wish to continue a five-day working week pattern would be able to do so.’
