London Mayor blocks progress in ACAS talks

LONDON TRANSPORT UNION RMT confirmed that members will be taking strike action next week as planned over LU’s continuing refusal to give assurances on jobs, pensions and working conditions in the midst of an on-going financial crisis driven by central Government. The union says that the Mayor stands accused of talking the talk over the financial meltdown engulfing transport in the Capital while failing to walk the walk by backing his own staff.

In ACAS talks which concluded yesterday RMT negotiators set out a framework which could have enabled the union's executive to consider a suspension of the action but LU have dragged their heels and blocked a clear route to progress leaving the union with the distinct impression that staff are being used as pawns in a funding battle between TFL and the Government. ‎During the talks LU confirmed all the union's worst fears that nothing is off the table in terms of the threat to jobs, pensions, conditions and safety.

The action itself comes in the wake of a recent ballot of over ten thousand members across all grades of LU staff with 94% of members voting to strike - a clear indication of the anger across the combine at the way the employees feel they are being played.

The strike action next week will be taking place as follows:

All LUL members are instructed to refuse to book on for any duty that commences between 00:01 on Tuesday 1st March 2022 and 23:59 on Tuesday 1st March 2022.

All LUL members are instructed to refuse to book on for any duty that commences between 00:01 on Thursday 3rd March 2022 and 23:59 on Thursday 3rd March 2022.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said;

“Our members will be taking strike action next week because a financial crisis at LUL has been deliberately engineered by the Government to drive a cuts’ agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten their working conditions and‎ pensions. The sheer scale of that threat was confirmed in talks yesterday.

“These are the very same transport staff praised as heroes for carrying London through COVID for nearly two years, often at serious personal risk, who now have no option but to strike to defend their livelihoods.

“The politicians need to wake up to the fact that transport staff will not pay the price for this cynically engineered crisis. In addition to the strike action RMT is coordinating a campaign of resistance with colleagues from other unions impacted by this threat.

“The union remains available for talks aimed at resolving the dispute.”