Sadiq Khan’s TfL makes desperate move to avoid Tube strikes

Sadiq Khan’s Transport for London (TfL) has reportedly made a desperate attempt to avoid the Tube strikes.

TfL has suggested trade unions the promise of a four-day working week in return for calling off November’s planned Tube strikes, reports The Telegraph.

Nick Dent, TfL director, wrote a letter to the Aslef trade union on Tuesday and pledged to “set out a proposal for delivering an average four-day working week”.

The condition for starting discussions on a four-day working week included agreeing to a 3.8% pay increase and canceling “all pending industrial action.”

Aslef’s strikes, initially scheduled for November 7 and November 12, were suspended that day.

TfL’s letter to Finn Brennan, the Aslef London organiser, seen by The Telegraph, said: “By January 2025 we will set out a proposal for delivering an average four-day working week with a paid meal relief included in working hours, which means fewer hours at work, whilst improving the reliability and efficiency of our service and maintaining the current 35-hour contractual working week.”

Keith Prince, City Hall Conservatives’ transport spokesman, said: “A four-day week is great for drivers, but Tubes run every day of the week – meaning that TfL, and ultimately taxpayers, have to pick up the bill for more staff. If this was the cost of stopping the strikes, then it’s total capitulation. What will they give them next time?”

A TfL spokesman said: “We have committed to delivering a proposal to our unions in January of how a four-day working week might work.

“As with any proposal, there are still details that need to be worked through and any changes would need to be mutually beneficial, preserving or improving the reliability of our service for our customers and improving efficiency. We will continue discussions with our unions.”

In January, Sadiq Khan granted Tube workers a five percent pay raise, which cost taxpayers £30 million and led to criticism, with some accusing him of tapping into a “magic money tree.”

The Conservatives labelled the agreement a “total capitulation” to union demands and raised concerns about its financial impact on London taxpayers.

Tube drivers accepted this increase, which will bring their salaries to nearly £70,000 annually, following a broader Labour government initiative to offer public sector workers pay deals worth around £10 billion.

Currently, Tube drivers work five days a week, totaling 35 hours. Under the proposed four-day week, total working hours would remain the same, though this would likely involve longer shifts.

Underground drivers also receive 43 days of annual leave, a benefit from an earlier agreement that converted non-working shift time into extra holiday days.