London Underground drivers are due to go on strike on Boxing Day in a row over pay, disrupting one of the busiest shopping days of the year for retailers in the capital.
Members of union Aslef will walk out for 24 hours on December 26 and then on a further two days on January 18 and 25.
Aslef members voted by 9-1 in favour of the strikes in a long-running row over extra pay for working hours on bank holidays. Aslef is meeting London Underground at the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas) today to discuss the issue further.
General secretary Mike Whelan said: “This result shows the strength of feeling among our tube driver members.
“We are seeking quite reasonable assurances: that working on this day will be voluntary and that those who do attend will be adequately compensated. It is beyond belief that management cannot make an offer that achieves these points.”
It is the third successive Boxing Day walkout by tube drivers in a dispute over bank holiday pay.
Boxing Day is a key date in retailers’ calendar as shoppers come out in swathes to bag a bargain after Christmas.
London Underground’s chief operating officer Howard Collins said before the strike dates were revealed: “We have been in discussions with the Aslef leadership to find a way to end this dispute and we made what we believed was a very fair offer.
“Unfortunately, this was not accepted and the offer has now been withdrawn so that further options to resolve the issue can be explored with the union at Acas today.”
He added: “Further industrial action will not achieve anything and I would urge Aslef leadership to work with us to resolve this dispute.”
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