‘Tube drivers in UK capital to walk off job in protest’

Underground train drivers in the British capital are due to stage an industrial action over pay and a new work scheme.

London Tube drivers will reportedly strike for three days over a dispute about pay and plans for an all-night tube service.

Leaders of the Aslef union will meet on Monday to decide whether to go ahead with strikes that would cripple tube services in the capital, the Guardian said.

If the union’s executive agrees, there will be a 24-hour strike from 9.14p.m. on 27 January, followed by further 24-hour strikes from the same time on 15 February and 17 February.

London Underground has offered a four-year pay deal and said it will hire part-time drivers to staff an all-night service at weekends. But unions have been seeking assurances for months about terms and conditions for their members.

But Finn Brennan of Aslef says, “We genuinely regret the inconvenience that will be caused by any action, but the behavior of London Underground’s senior management team has left us with no other choice.”

“Our members have been extremely patient; they have waited for more than three and half years for promised talks on improving work-life balance. There is still no indication when they will receive the pay rise that was due last April.”

Over the past few years, London Tube drivers have held a number of walkouts for pay and working condition.