Workers on London's new Elizabeth line to walkout in row over pay just weeks after it fully opened - Daily Mail

Workers on London's new Elizabeth railway line will walkout in row over pay in January - just weeks after it fully opened

• Workers will walk out on January 12, followed by weeks of 'work to rule' action
• It is the first strike since the cross-London Elizabeth Line was constructed 
• The dispute over pay and pensions changes follows months of UK rail strikes 

By Elizabeth Haigh For Mailonline

Published: 13:23 GMT, 23 December 2022 | Updated: 13:23 GMT, 23 December 2022

Workers on London's Elizabeth Line will strike on January 12 in a dispute over pay and pensions, Prospect and the TSSA rail union has announced.

The walkouts by staff at Rail for London (Infrastructure) Limited, which runs the Elizabeth Line, will be followed by more than a month of 'work-to-rule' action, in which staff will work contracted hours and shifts only.

Officials said the action will cause 'significant disruption' to the new cross-London line in the first strike since it began to open in May this year. 

The announcement comes just weeks after the cross-London line fully opened. 

Members of the union will strike in an ongoing dispute over pay and proposed changes to pensions after a ballot with 80 percent turn out saw 90 percent of workers vote to strike.

The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association said staff on parts of the line who are contractors have been offered an 8.2 percent pay rise, while those employed directly have been offered just four percent.

The union rejected an offer of a four percent rise this year and a 4.4 percent rise next year. 

TSSA Organiser Mel Taylor said: 'Our members have sent the company a very clear message that they are not prepared to be pushed around on pay and pensions.

'The result of our ballot shows the strength of feeling and that is why we will be moving very quickly to take strike action and action short of a strike in the new year.

'Frankly, we have been left with little option because we know workers at Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI) are being paid significantly less than equivalent colleagues across the TfL network.

'That is simply not good enough. Our members have the power to bring the Elizabeth Line to a standstill and the company must now wake up to that fact and get back round the table.

'We are always open to talks, but only if there's a much-improved deal in the offing, one which puts our members on a par with those in the outsourced parts of the Elizabeth Line.'

Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, said: 'Our members have worked incredibly hard to get the Elizabeth Line ready to go safely into operation yet are being treated significantly worse than equivalent workers on the rest of London's network. They have been left with no option but to take this action. 

'We remain open to negotiation and it is our hope that RfLI will come back to the table with an offer sufficient to avert industrial action. 

'The Elizabeth Line is bringing in substantial revenue so there is no reason why there can't be some movement on pay.' 

The latest strike action to be announced comes after rail unions declared further strikes over the Christmas period.

Train workers for the RMT, run by Mick Lynch, are to down tools again from 6pm on Christmas Eve, and will only return to work at 6am on December 27.

The strike by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will see some trains stop running as early as 8am on Christmas Eve.

As a result rail bosses are advising families to set off the day before in some parts of the country if they want to guarantee seeing loved ones this Christmas.

The last London-bound train from Edinburgh will set off at 8am, while the final service in the opposite direction will leave at 11am.

The last Newcastle-bound train from the capital will leave at 11am, with the last service going the other way at 10.22am. The last London-Liverpool service will be at 12.34pm and the final London-Leeds train at 12.03pm.

The last train to Glasgow from London will leave at 12.22pm, with the last in the opposite direction at 10.40am. The last London-Manchester service will go at 12.48pm and London-Birmingham at 1.03pm. There will be no direct trains between the capital and Sheffield or Nottingham. 

It blows a hole in the claims of RMT boss Mick Lynch, who said his union's Christmas Eve strike would have no impact on travellers because it wasn't beginning until 6pm, when engineering works begin on many parts of the network.  

The RMT has also scheduled further strike action for January - on January 3, 4, 6 and 7, meaning services are set to be crippled.

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2022-12-23 13:23:26Z
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