On the picket lines in London last month during the Tube strike
Tube workers say a new offer from bosses falls short of what they’re fighting for—and want more strikes.
The RMT union members staged a week of rolling strikes last month over pay and working hours.
Transport for London (TfL) bosses made a revised offer last week after discussions with the RMT, Aslef, Unite and TSSA unions.
The new offer is a three-year deal comprising a 3.4 percent uplift in year one and an increase in years two and three in line with inflation.
But, significantly, there was no mention of the changes to working hours in the “improved” offer.
Ebony is a London Underground worker and the chair of the RMT National Black and Ethnic Minorities Members’ Advisory Committee. She told Socialist Worker, “A 3.4 percent pay offer stinks—it’s less than inflation.”
Ebony said that the omission of a shorter working week from the offer was simply not good enough. “TfL are saying that they cannot afford to compress our work into four days but that’s preposterous,” she said.
“TfL makes millions of pounds in profit and has been giving out fat bonuses to the likes of Andy Lord, who makes more than five times people’s salaries.”
TfL Commissioner Andy Lord received a total remuneration package of £639,164 for the financial year ending March 2025. This included his base salary of £408,430 and a £187,902 “performance-related” pay and retention bonus.
The bosses try to paint the RMT’s demand of a gradual reduction to a 32-hour work week as a sign of “greedy workers”.
But tube workers have punishing shift patterns—and that has been made worse through understaffing.
There is a wealth of evidence that shift work harms workers’ health. For example, research from Toulouse university showed that workers who have done 10 years of night shifts aged by an extra six and a half years compared to others.
Ebony said, “You’re going to bed at different times and eating at different times. Some weeks you do seven nights in a row and you get only two days to recover. But you lose most of that first day because you need to rest.
“What people need to understand is that we are fighting for a work-life balance. Of course, the money is important because of the cost of living crisis. But for myself and many of my colleagues, we need to have more rest.”
The punishing shift patterns don’t just impact workers, but the millions of people who use the London Underground.
Ebony added, “Having spoken to colleagues and been involved in WhatsApp groups, I can tell you people are not happy about the offer. Look out for more strikes.”
RMT says the offer will now be discussed by the national executive committee and in consultation with the membership over the coming weeks.
Strikes can force bosses to cough up—now is the time to call hard-hitting action that builds on the success of the last strike.
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