Commuters brace for Halloween horror as tube drivers reject bumper £70k pay offer

National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) general secretary Mick Lynch is urging members to support industrial action over what he claims is TfL’s "failure to table a suitable pay offer" during negotiations.

The pay increase offered by Tube bosses would take the basic salary for London Underground train operators to £69,600 a year, up from its current level of £67,100.

Instructors are already paid just under £70,000, although they make up just 10 per cent of London Underground’s 3,300 drivers. Almost all Tube drivers also work paid overtime. The Telegraph reports that last year one made more than £100,000.

A message from Lynch to members on Thursday, seen by The Telegraph, said: “RMT is conducting separate ballots for TfL and LUL members over the failure to table a suitable pay offer for 2024 and the insistence from both companies that the increase will only be paid as a non-consolidated lump sum to any member at the top of their pay band.

Union bosses are now organising a strike ballot and results are set to be announced on October 1. Union chiefs would then have two weeks to announce the date and industrial action could fall over the October half-term and Halloween.

The RMT union, which represents almost all Tube drivers, de-affiliated from the Labour party in 2004.

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It comes as a planned strike by hundreds of London Underground managers in a dispute over terms and conditions has been suspended.

Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) working as customer service managers were due to walk out next Wednesday.

TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “Our members have been clear all along that continued threats to their roles, locations, terms and conditions will not stand unchallenged. Their determination in this dispute has now delivered some progress and, as a result, the decision has been taken to suspend strike action on September 4.

"However, we remain in dispute and call on London Underground to respond positively and work constructively with us to reach a resolution which addresses our concerns."

Meanwhile, Border Force staff at Heathrow Airport will launch a four-day strike on Saturday in a long-running dispute over rosters.

Around 650 members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) will walk out amid complaints that new rosters are inflexible. The staff will then work to rule and refuse to work overtime from September 4 to 22.

General secretary Fran Heathcote said: "This survey shows how badly our members’ wellbeing is being affected by the new roster system.

"These inflexible rosters are preventing parents dropping off and picking up their children from school. Managers could easily resolve the issue by allowing greater flexibility and by agreeing fixed shifts that give our members the chance to plan their caring responsibilities."

A Home Office spokesperson said: "We appreciate the tireless work that Border Force do to keep our borders safe and secure, and we are committed to continuing our conversations with the union so we can find an agreement that works for both the public and staff.

"We will have robust plans in place to minimise disruption where possible, but we urge passengers to check the latest advice from operators before they travel."