Strike action on the Elizabeth line suspended after new pay offer to staff
(TfL/PA)
/ PA Mediaail union TSSA has suspended strike action planned for the Elizabeth line next week.
The walkout of the union’s members on Wednesday, May 24, has been called off after the union won a revised pay proposal from management at Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI).
The first anniversary of the opening of the Elizabeth line was to be marked by the strike.
In January the dispute saw a one-day stoppage by dozens of TSSA members over pay.
TSSA members work in essential roles, including Traffic Manager, Service & Infrastructure Manager and Incident Response Manager grades. These are key hands on operational roles essential to the running of the railway.
Crossrail: Elizabeth Line Strike | January 2023
TSSA Interim Organising Director Mel Taylor, said, “We have had a very constructive meeting and as a result TSSA has agreed to suspend the strike action planned on 24th May.
“This will enable our teams to fully digest the changes and allow for further consultation and discussion over the coming days. We certainly do not take strike action lightly, but we have made this progress as a result of the action we have taken and planned to take.
“Elizabeth Line staff work weekends, nights and even Christmas Day. They are multi-skilled and operate the world’s only fully digital railway, but many earn significantly less than the salary paid to other TfL staff in similar roles. That is clearly not an acceptable or sustainable position and it looks as though the company is waking up to the fact.”
The TSSA union had announced that its members were due to walk out for the second time this year in a battle to secure pay parity with other workers on the £20bn line.
A strike was to be followed by “action short of a strike”, involving an overtime ban and removal of good will, from May 27 to June 4. This will mean managers will refuse to work rest days or cover for absent colleagues.
The service is named after Queen Elizabeth II, who officially opened the line on 17 May 2022 during her Platinum Jubilee year. Ppassenger services started on 24 May 2022. It serves east amd west London with Heathrow and Stratford among the main stations.