Tube drivers may strike over Boxing Day pay

London Underground drivers are to vote on industrial action in a management disagreement over Boxing Day pay. London Underground claim 26th December is an normal working day and a longstanding agreement has been in place with trade unions over pay. However, train drivers' union Aslef claim they have argued the case for additional payments on Boxing Day at numerous meetings with London Underground (LU). The union are now looking for triple time plus a day in lieu.



Photo by Tom Roper
Terry Wilkinson, the EC member for District 8 from the union said today: "It used to be almost guaranteed that if you worked one bank holiday, you would not work the next. But the increase in service levels has meant this is now no longer possible.

"We are not opposed to additional services for customers. Why should we be? They help to make our employment more secure.... But we believe that there are times when staff need to be appropriately compensated for working at highly unsocial times - and that includes Boxing Day.

"If they get away with this, next year they'll be telling us Christmas Day is a normal day as well!." Unlikely, as the London Underground has always been completely closed on Christmas Day!

TfL say the union are refusing to even talk about this and a spokesperson said: "LU has made every effort to resolve this issue with the Aslef leadership, which has refused to attend talks at Acas to discuss its claim for triple time and a day in lieu for its members."

As you know there have been three Tube strikes over job losses and ticket office closures. The next strike is planned for 28th November 2010 and the RMT & TSSA union leaders had said they had no plans to disrupt services over Christmas and the New Year.

However a memo from Aslef says the recommendation is for strike action over Boxing Day pay to take place on Boxing Day itself.

Update - 13th December 2010 - ASLEF members voted for strike action in a majority of 9-1