Unsuccessful pay raise talks may lead to Tube strike

Leaders of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), the only union that had agreed on a two-year pay deal, walked out during the meeting with dispute negotiator Acas, accusing the London Underground (LU) for reneging on its offer.

The TSSA union, including the managerial and ticket officers, was considering reversing its decision to accept. Gerry Doherty, General Secretary of TSSA, informed that he was upset with London Underground for changing a deal that had already been agreed before.

Meanwhile, LU is now refusing to raise this year’s pay by 1.5 per cent and 0.5 per cent above the Retail Price Index next year.

As a result, two other unions, the Unite and RMT, are now planning to ballot thousands of Tube workers to strike, including engineers, train drivers and signal workers. John Morgan-Evans, Regional Officer of Unite, commented that LU could have used the Acas meeting to resolve the damaging pay increase issue instead of choosing to put the Tube at risk of further disruptions. Similarly, Bob Crow, Leader of RMT, stated that the union remains firm to pursue a pay increase for Tube staffs.

Representing most of the train drivers, Aslef however has yet to choose whether to agree on the deal.

Being used by three million people daily, work stoppage across the Tube could result in devastating effects. If the union groups would vote for industrial action, a strike could take place before the end of December.

Earlier in June, the RMT had staged a 48-hour Tube strike that severely affected the train service.