Tube staff vote to strike on Budget Day

London Underground is set to face significant disruption on 15 March - Budget Day - as members of the ASLEF union go on a 24-hour strike.

The walkout was announced after Tube drivers, engineering train drivers, test train drivers and managers voted in favour of industrial action.

In a ballot, 99% of ASLEF members who work as Tube drivers voted in favour of striking, with a 77% turnout.

The dispute was centred around the alleged refusal of management to accept that changes to working arrangements and pensions should only be implemented with the agreement of ASLEF members.

Other ASLEF members on the Underground, including those in management grades, engineering train drivers, and test train drivers, also voted in favour of the strikes by similar margins, and so will walk out on the same day, leading to a significant disruption of services.

“The size of these ‘yes’ votes, and the large turnouts, show that our members are not prepared to put up any longer with the threats to their working conditions and pensions,” said Finn Brennan, ASLEF’s full-time organiser on the Underground.

“We understand that TfL faces financial challenges, post-pandemic, but our members are simply not prepared to pay the price for the government’s failure to properly fund London’s public transport system.

“Cuts to safety training have already been forced through and management is open that they plan to remove all current working agreements under the guise of ‘modernisation’ and ‘flexibility’ and to replace the agreed attendance and discipline policies.”

Brennan added that proposals to “slash” pension benefits were set to be announced in the next week.

“We are always prepared to discuss and negotiate on changes, but our members want an unequivocal commitment from TfL that management will not continue to force through detrimental changes without agreement.

“Unless they are prepared to work with us, and accept that changes have to come by agreement, and bring real benefits to staff, rather than just cuts and cost savings, this will be only the first day of action in a protracted dispute.”

Transport for London was yet to issue a statement on the strike by lunchtime on Wednesday.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.