Tube drivers call off planned strikes after ‘improved offer’

The union has announced that a scheduled strike by tube drivers, which was set to disrupt all London Underground services on Thursday, has been canceled.

According to the union, discussions held on Tuesday between Aslef representatives and the management of Transport for London resulted in a "much better offer."

Aslef announced two day-long strikes in the capital, scheduled for next Thursday and Tuesday.

The news will bring comfort to residents of London, who had been previously informed that there would be no Underground trains operating and that other Transport for London services would face significant overcrowding and disturbances if the planned action took place.

Aslef's decision comes after the RMT union previously announced on Friday that they would be canceling their scheduled strikes for the week.

Aslef previously expressed that they were “not hopeful” for a solution, as nearly two weeks went by without any discussions following the announcement of the strike dates.

Finn Brennan, Aslef's dedicated organizer for the London Underground, announced: “After new discussions and a better proposal, Aslef has decided to put a hold on our scheduled strike on the London Underground.”

We'll go over the specifics of the offer with our representatives in a meeting on Thursday. We're happy to see this advancement and that we've managed to prevent any strike action for now.

Claire Mann, the chief operating officer of TfL, expressed her satisfaction that Aslef has called off its intended strike on the Tube, which means Londoners will not experience any disruptions this week or next.

"We feel that our proposal to the trade unions is reasonable, within our means, beneficial for our staff, and advantageous for London. We encourage our trade unions to keep collaborating with us."

The conflict emerged while discussions were taking place about the postponed pay agreement for 2024, although union leaders emphasized that salary was not the main issue. It was reported that Tube drivers wanted to have conditions similar to those of their colleagues on the Elizabeth line, and unions have been persistent in seeking assurances regarding pension plans from TfL.

Tube train drivers are reportedly being offered a pay raise of about 4.5%, which would bring their average salary to over £69,000 for a four-day workweek.

The halt of the upcoming strikes marks a successful week for TfL. On Monday, they resumed additional customer services that had been suspended due to the cyber attack in September. Furthermore, during last week's budget announcement, Chancellor Rachel Reeves detailed a £485 million grant for new trains on the Piccadilly line and stated that the government would aim to establish a long-term financial agreement for London.