05 November 2024 , 20:14
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Industrial action by Aslef members threatened to halt all London Underground services
A planned strike by tube drivers that threatened to halt all London Underground services on Thursday has been called off, their union announced.
Talks between Aslef officials and Transport for London management on Tuesday led to a “significantly improved offer”, according to the union.
Aslef had called two 24-hour strikes in the capital, to take place on Thursday and Tuesday next week.
The announcement will come as a relief to Londoners, who had been warned to expect no Underground trains to run and severe crowding and disruption on other TfL services should the action go ahead.
The decision by Aslef follows a similar move by the RMT union, who on Friday called off their planned strikes this week.
Aslef had earlier said they were “not optimistic” of a resolution after almost a fortnight passed without talks after the strike dates were announced.
Finn Brennan, Aslef’s full-time organiser on London Underground, said: “Following fresh talks, and an improved offer, Aslef has agreed to suspend our planned industrial action on London Underground.
“Details of the offer will be discussed with our reps at a meeting on Thursday. We are pleased that this progress has been made and that strike action has been averted at this time. .”
Claire Mann, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: “We are pleased that Aslef has suspended its planned industrial action on the Tube and that Londoners will not be disrupted this week or next.
“We believe that we have made an offer to our trade unions that is fair, affordable, good for our colleagues and good for London and we urge our trade unions to continue working with us.”
The dispute arose during negotiations over the delayed 2024 pay deal, although union officials insisted pay was not the primary concern. Tube drivers were understood to be seeking the same conditions as counterparts on the Elizabeth line, while unions have continued to seek guarantees over TfL pensions.
Tube train drivers are understood to have been offered a pay increase of about 4.5%, taking the average salary to more than £69,000.
The suspension of the planned strikes caps a positive seven days for TfL. On Monday it restored another tranche of customer services taken offline after the September cyber-attack, while in last week’s budget the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, confirmed a £485m award to fund new Piccadilly line trains and said the government would work towards a long-term financial settlement for London.