Member Article

New 48-hour Tube strike voted for by just three workers

London Underground workers are set for another 48-hour strike in the row over pay on the new Night Tube service.

The strike will go ahead following a vote in favour of action by RMT union members. The transport body, however, claims that only three people voted for the strike.

The strike will take place between 9pm on Monday 28th until Wednesday 30th September, bringing the Waterloo and Circle lines to a halt.

Transport for London said: “We are working on our resilience plan to minimise the impact on the line should this unnecessary strike action go ahead. We’ve been in extensive discussions with the RMT over this issue during the past year and we’ve presented various options to bring this dispute to an end,” said TfL.

“These have included exploring development opportunities to help progress the careers of the staff concerned as well as allocating additional responsibilities that would justify a salary increase.

“Unfortunately all of these options have been rejected outright by the RMT who appear determined to demand more money for no additional work or responsibility. We remain committed to discussions with the RMT representatives and I urge them to consider the options we’ve proposed rather than threaten industrial action.”

RMT secretary Mick Cash said in a statement: “London Underground (LU) management must be clear by now on our members legitimate and reasonable demand for re-grading. The union has re-iterated that we will not accept an offer which is based on a change in staff duties or which would cause a detriment to other members.

“Although LU has declined our request for arbitration at Acas, they are aware that as always we remain available for talks to resolve the dispute.”

The launch of the Night Tube, which was set to launch in Autumn, has been delayed as ongoing strikes have affected the service. In August, the unions rejected a pay deal from TfL claiming the transport body has done “nothing to tackle the core issue which revolves around staff being at the beck and call of management to be hauled in during their free time to try and plug the staffing gaps which riddle the Mayor’s Night Tube vanity project.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .