London Underground drivers are to stage a walkout on Boxing Day, one of the busiest shopping days of the year in London, in a row over bank holiday pay. Industrial action is likely to affect Tube services across the capital, causing travel chaos for tourists and shoppers.
London Underground condemned the main driver’s union Aslef’s leadership’s demands, after talks broke down on Monday. It will be the third consecutive Boxing Day strike by Tube drivers, in a row which dates back to an agreement in 1992.
The move was announced after Aslef members voted 9-1 in favour of walkouts in a long-running row over extra pay for working on bank holidays. The union represents 60 per cent of Tube drivers.
An Aslef spokesperson said: “The ballot result shows the strength of feeling that remains on this issue.”
Aslef Union has also announced two further strike dates on 18 and 25 January, however these strikes, as in previous years are likely to be called off.
A London Underground (LU) spokesman said: “Despite the efforts of LU to resolve the dispute, the Aslef leadership have demanded an additional £250 for their drivers to work on Boxing Day, on top of their salaries that already include working on Boxing Day.”
The union is calling for its members to be allowed to volunteer to work on Boxing Day, a change to the current system which sees drivers rostered on to work on all bank holidays.
Lu’s chief operating officer, Howard Collins, added that train drivers were paid a salary that reflected some bank holiday working, and that fewer drivers were rostered to work on Boxing Day.
The walk outs could encumber sports fans travelling to traditional Boxing Day fixtures. West London football club Queens Park Rangers confirmed its Boxing Day match against West Bromwould continue, regardless of the strike. However Arsenal admits their game between West Ham at the Emirates Stadium is under threat.
The dispute has been running for three years, with strikes on Boxing Day in 2011 and 2010, however disruption was limited. The industrial action is not strictly imposed and last year some 80 per cent of drivers turned up for work. On Boxing Day last year, London Underground ran half of all planned services.
The action is likely to renew calls for driver-less trains, an initiative backed by Boris Johnson, the mayor of London. London Underground is looking to bring in rolling stock without a driver’s cab from early in the next decade but insists all trains will have a member of staff on board.
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