“London Underground and Tramlink Strikes: Aslef Tube Chaos Looms Over Easter Holidays”
Aslef Tube drivers have declared their intention to strike, causing anticipated chaos on the London Underground during the Easter holidays.Members of the train drivers’ union Aslef are scheduled to walk out on Monday, April 8, with further action planned for Saturday, May 4.
Aslef Tube
Finn Brennan, a representative for the union, stated on Wednesday: “Aslef Tube train drivers will strike in April and May due to an ongoing dispute with London Underground. The issue stems from the company’s failure to provide assurances that changes to our members’ terms and conditions will not be enforced without agreement, and that all existing agreements will be respected.
“Despite a prior commitment to halt plans for significant changes to drivers’ working conditions, London Underground management has assembled a team of managers dedicated to implementing their proposals.
“They aim to extend drivers’ shifts, increasing time spent in the cab by up to 25%, and abolish all current working agreements under the guise of ‘flexibility and efficiency’.”
This new strike by Aslef follows Sadiq Khan’s decision two and a half months ago to utilize £30 million of taxpayer funds to prevent a week of walkouts by the RMT union, representing around 10,000 Tube staff.
The RMT walkouts, which demanded a 12% pay rise, would have effectively shut down the Underground for four days. However, the mayor’s unprecedented intervention led to negotiations being facilitated with unspecified City Hall funds.
This decision prompted Aslef, which had already accepted a five percent increase, to request additional funds, stating that the mayor “had found the magic money tree and our members expect to share the fruit”.
Aslef reported on Wednesday that a ballot saw their drivers vote in favor of strike action by over 98%, with a turnout of over 70%.
These new strikes will be the second and third days of action by Aslef on this matter, following a one-day strike in March last year.
Meanwhile, tram passengers in south London are advised to brace for disruption as a union has announced a series of strikes. About 60 Croydon Tramlink engineers are expected to strike from March 24 to 28 in a dispute with TfL over pay, as announced by the union Unite.
