A Tube strike planned for this Monday 8 April as well as early May have been called off.
Drivers’ union Aslef said “key issues” had been “successfully resolved” with Transport for London (TfL). Train strikes on Monday will still go ahead.
According to an Aslef official, TfL had agreed to disband its “trains modernisation” team and agreed it would not change drivers’ working patterns without first getting agreement.
In addition, annual refresher training will also be restarted, a new team will be hired to deal with anti-social behaviour on the Tube late at night, and new security locks will be installed on drivers’ cabs.
The decision not to strike will come as a relief to London commuters who faced a miserable day of travel on Monday, with a combined train and Tube strike expected to bring the capital to a standstill. Many are still expected to work from home to avoid the chaos.
Unlucky for some
Last month, Aslef members voted overwhelmingly – by 96 per cent – to take further strike action following a long-running dispute over salaries and plans to reduce the number of drivers in future by using modern signalling and transport technology. There have been 13 one-day strikes since the issue began in 2022.
Last year, the union rejected an eight per cent pay increase that would have increased the average salary of a train driver from £60,000 to £65,000, according to the Department of Transport.
Director of customer operations for London Underground, Nick Dent, said of the cancelled strikes: “We are pleased that Aslef has withdrawn its planned industrial action… We will continue to work constructively with the trade unions to avoid disruption and address concerns.”
London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is in the middle of an election campaign to be held on 2 May, said it was good news for Londoners and that the agreement “demonstrates… what can be achieved by talking and engaging with transport staff and trade unions rather than working against them.”
Good news for Londoners: Monday’s tube strike is no longer going ahead.
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) April 4, 2024
This demonstrates – once again – what can be achieved by talking and engaging with transport staff and trade unions rather than working against them.
