TUBE drivers are set to strike in a row with Transport for London about extra payments for working on Boxing Day.
Popular on LondonNet
ASLEF, the main drivers’ union, is not happy that its members are paid normal rates for turning out on Boxing Day. They want triple-pay instead.
“To claim that Boxing Day is an ordinary working day is an almost unbelievable denial of an obvious fact,” said a spokesperson for ASLEF.
“They are living on another planet if they think ASLEF members will accept this piece of fiction. If they get away with this, next year they’ll be telling us Christmas Day is a normal day as well.”
ASLEF now plans to ballot its members for strike action.
Transport for London blames ASLEF for the row and claims the union “refused to attend talks at ACAS to discuss its claim”.
“LU [London Underground] has made every effort to resolve this issue with the ASLEF leadership,” said a TfL spokesperson.
Each side accuses the other of breaking established agreements.
According to ASLEF, “it used to be almost guaranteed that if you worked one Bank Holiday, you would not work the next. But the increase in service levels has meant this is now no longer possible”.
For its part, TfL said there was already an agreement in place for Boxing Day working, which was accepted by other Tube unions.
