Strikes on the London Underground have been called off after Transport for London (TfL) and ASLEF reached a deal over working conditions. The Tube strike – set for Monday, April 8 and Saturday, May 4 – was first called by the union over fears train drivers would be made to work longer shifts and spend 25 per cent more time in the cab among other changes to current working agreements.
TfL has now disbanded its trains modernisations team and will no longer be implementing plans to change driver working arrangements without prior agreement, according to ASLEF. Annual refresher training which stopped during the pandemic will also be reinstated.
Along with these pledges, TfL will recruit an extra team of Transport Support and Enforcement officers to deal with anti social behaviour on trains during Night Tube hours, according to ASLEF. Additionally, work will continue on the installation of new cab security locks.
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An ASLEF official said: “Management have confirmed that they have disbanded their ‘Trains Modernisation’ team and will not be implementing their plans to change drivers’ working arrangements without agreement. They have also agreed to reinstate annual refresher training stopped during the pandemic.” The ASLEF spokesperson added: “We are pleased that we have successfully resolved these long standing issues without the need for strikes.”
Despite this resolution with TfL, ASLEF is yet to make a deal with National Rail as this industrial dispute continues. Train drivers have announced an overtime ban between Thursday, April 4 and Tuesday, April 9 while strike action will specifically impact train operators on Friday, Saturday and Monday.
Full list of National Rail strikes
ASLEF members are also due to strike on National Rail services. Below is a full breakdown of these dates and which operators would be affected.
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Friday, April 5 – Avanti West Coast , CrossCountry , East Midlands Railway , London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway
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Saturday, April 6 – Chiltern Railways , Great Western Railway , Heathrow Express , LNER , Northern and TransPennine Express
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Monday, April 8 – c2c , Gatwick Express , Great Northern , Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express), South Western Railway (including Island Line), Southeastern, Southern and Thameslink
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