Tube strikes would be outrageous – where is the Mayor?
Bob Crow, the late leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, once said “It’s an old media myth that the RMT union resorts to industrial action lightly.” These days, we’d call such a claim “trolling.” Indeed, as the historian Dr Jim Moher points out, Crow “cherished” a signed shirt from Millwall player Dennis Wise that bore the message “from one striker to another.”
With the RMT poised to bring the capital to a standstill next week, it’s worth interrogating how lightly their decision has been taken. The latest action is planned in response to the union’s demands over three main issues: pay, “fatigue management” and the desire to work a 32-hour week.
On the first point, it’s worth remembering that a Tube driver’s salary is just over £65,000 and that a more experienced driver (or “operator” as the union calls them) can earn over £75,000. Their current 35-hour week is, according to union boss Eddie Dempsey, taking its toll on members’ “health and wellbeing.” The union claims a shorter working week is necessary to help end “extreme shift rotations.”
It isn’t hard to think of jobs that pay a lot less than £75,000 and come with a higher risk of fatigue, but in keeping with Bob Crow’s style the RMT is unambiguous in its demands – and unashamed. A proposed 3.4 per cent pay increase has been tabled by Transport for London but they insist a shorter working week “is neither practical nor affordable”.
Sadiq Khan promised “zero days of strikes”
To most people, the RMT’s demands will seem utterly outrageous. The pay and benefits are extraordinarily generous and it seems absurd that a few thousand individuals have the power to bring a city of millions to a halt whenever they feel like flexing their muscles.
Perhaps it’s time for the Chair of Transport for London to intervene? That would be the Mayor, Sadiq Khan. On the looming threat of industrial action he has been silent, though in recent days he’s posted on X about the Oxford Street pedestrianisation, e-sports, fashion, child vaccinations, the Afghanistan earthquake and a recent podcast appearance.
This is the Mayor who promised “zero days of strikes” though it looks more like zero days of talking about them. Automating the tube – a fantasy of many, including most Tory politicians – is a long way off, if it’s even feasible, so few options remain other than buying off the RMT (again) or saying “no, forget it.”
I’d favour the latter.