Elizabeth line first anniversary faces strike action

A previous strike was held earlier this year

The first anniversary of the opening of the Elizabeth line in central London is set to be marked with strike action.

Operational staff are taking industrial action on 24 May as part of a dispute with Transport for London (TfL) over pay.

The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) union says its workers are paid "thousands of pounds" less than colleagues performing similar roles on other parts of the TfL network.

TfL has been approached for comment.

'Had enough'

It is set to be the second strike on the Elizabeth Line, after TSSA members took action in the same dispute in January.

Action short of a strike, consisting of an overtime ban, will also run from 27 May to 4 June.

TSSA members work in roles including traffic managers, service and infrastructure, and incident response manager grades.

The union's organising director, Mel Taylor, said: "We've been in talks with management for almost a year now, yet the majority of our members have been offered an uplift of just over 1% to make up for the huge pay differentials.

"Elizabeth line staff work weekends, nights and even Christmas Day, operating the world's only fully digital railway, but many earn less than two thirds of the salary paid to other TfL staff in similar roles.

"Our members don't want to have to take strike action, but they've had enough."