New year, new strike? London Tube workers vote to walkout in row over pay – marking huge blow for Sadiq Khan after ‘ceasefire’ between TfL and union barons breaks down

Commuters are facing more chaos on the London Underground in the new year after tube workers voted to walkout once again in a long-running dispute over pay. 

Members of the militant Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union overwhelmingly rejected the five per cent pay offer from Transport for London (TfL), with 90.5 per cent voting in favour of strike action.

The planned industrial action comes as a huge blow for Sadiq Khan marking the breakdown of the ‘ceasefire’ between TfL and the unions earlier this year, when strikes over pensions and station were called off in the eleventh hour. 

Union bosses will meet today to discuss the next steps in their planned action.

A spokesperson for TfL said: ‘We are disappointed that RMT has achieved a mandate for strike action based on our full and final pay offer.

London Underground workers have voted to walkout again in the New Year. Pictured: A near empty tube carriage 

The planned industrial action comes as a huge blow for Sadiq Khan marking the breakdown of the ‘ceasefire’ between TfL and the unions earlier this year. Pictured: The London Mayor at an event in September 

‘We have been clear throughout our productive discussions with our trade unions that this offer is the most we can afford whilst ensuring that we can operate safely, reliably and sustainably.

‘We remain open for discussions and will do everything in our power to avoid disruption to Londoners.’

TfL said it had offered staff a 5 per cent pay increase for 2023. It said while some roles on the Tube had a pay range frozen for the year it impacted ‘less than 2 per cent of London Underground colleagues’. 

Last week, Aslef union accepted a new pay offer for Tube drivers in London. 

Aslef’s full-time organiser on London Underground, Finn Brennan, said: ‘This offer means we have achieved, for our Tube train driver members, a 13.8 per cent pay rise over two years.

‘It is a no-strings offer, which shows that agreements can be reached without industrial action, when employers are prepared to sit round the table and negotiate a settlement.’

This year has been blighted with tube and rail strikes causing chaos to many trying to get to work.

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