Sadiq Khan criticised over London Underground strikes in November

Underground staff to walk out in the first two weeks of November after unions reject three pay increase offers in recent months

Sadiq Khan has been criticised after London Underground workers said they would strike on two days in November over pay and working conditions.
Members of the Aslef trade union will walk out on Nov 7 and Nov 12, it was announced on Wednesday, as the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) also confirmed its members will strike the week before.
Aslef, the smaller of two unions representing Tube drivers, rejected an inflation-topping 3.8 per cent pay increase offer from Transport for London (TfL).
Unions also previously complained that London Underground managers had refused to discuss a reduction in Tube drivers’ working hours. TfL said Tube drivers are “scheduled to work a 36-hour week averaged over their whole rota”.
RMT also announced its members, which include signalling and station staff, will walk out on different days between Nov 1 and 8 after rejecting a “wholly inadequate” pay offer.
The union said some progress was made in negotiations, but maintained that the current proposal left a large number of staff excluded from collective bargaining.
The Mayor of London was criticised in relation to the strike by Keith Prince AM, the spokesman for City Hall Conservatives Group Transport, who noted this will mark the 139th and 140th strikes under Mr Khan. 
He said: “Whatever integrity Labour had on resolving this issue has been thoroughly smashed to pieces as Sadiq Khan prepares to reside over his 139th and 140th strikes whilst in Office. 
“This is now happening under a Labour Government, which he had given the impression in the past would operate in such a way that these things didn’t ever occur. That credibility has been shot through.”
Helen Whately, the shadow transport secretary, also said: “Sadly this is what life is going to look like under a Labour Government.
“Labour have made it clear to unions that every time they go on strike they’ll cave. So it’s no surprise that every week we’ve got a new strike on the cards.”
Sources familiar with the negotiations told The Telegraph that both Aslef and RMT rejected three pay offers from London Underground over the past few months.
Negotiations started with an increase of 3.4 per cent as unions also rejected offers of 3.6 per cent and 3.8 per cent.
A TfL spokesman said the unions were invited to a meeting next week to discuss pay rises, with an offer of 4.6 per cent now on the table. That would take Tube drivers’ basic salaries to £72,800.
The transport authority said: “Our offer is fair for our people and affordable for London, and we urge our unions to continue working with us to support London and the wider economy.”
Sources said that one of the main sticking points came about because the unions want to ensure their richest members get the same pay increases as the poorest.
Tube bosses want to introduce banded pay grades and pay rises given as a one-off bonus instead of part of drivers’ salaries for those outside the top pay band. 
Such so-called “non-consolidated payments” were rejected by union negotiators, the sources said.
Mick Lynch, the RMT general secretary, said: “London Underground’s pay offer falls short of what our members deserve. It threatens to remove collective bargaining for a growing portion of staff, pushing them into pay bands that are decided solely by management. This undermines our members’ rights and the core principles of fair negotiation.
“No trade union can accept any pay proposal where management decide which of our members gets a pay rise and those who do not.”
He added: “Our members have been left with no choice but to take strike action to defend their terms and conditions.”
Strikes will start with maintenance workers on Nov 1 and continue with different union members, including signalling and station staff from Nov 6 and 8.
The RMT said that about 10,000 of its members are involved in the dispute, adding that it remains ready to engage in talks if a “fair and fully consolidated” pay offer were to be put forward. 
Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of trade body UK Hospitality, said: “This is incredibly disappointing and will have a significant impact on London hospitality and tourism businesses – hitting two key trading days.
“Impacts our customers, our workers and the economy as a whole. We urge all sides to come to reach a sensible and early resolution,” she added in a post to X, formerly Twitter. 
Finn Brennan, Aslef’s full-time organiser of the London Underground (LU), said: “We don’t want to go on strike – we don’t want to make travelling in and around the capital more difficult for passengers and we don’t want to lose a day’s pay – but we have been forced into this position because LU management won’t sit down properly and negotiate with us.
“Our members voted by over 98 per cent in favour of strike action, but Underground management are still refusing to even discuss key elements of our claim.
“They refuse to discuss any reduction in the working week or introducing paid meal relief to bring Underground drivers in line with those on the Elizabeth line and London Overground.”