Elizabeth line workers vote to take strike action

Elizabeth line workers have voted overwhelming to strike over pay

Elizabeth line employees have voted overwhelmingly to take strike action over pay.

The workers, employees of Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI) that are members of the Prospect union, rejected a 4% pay offer for 2022 and a 4.4% increase for next year.

Prospect said the offer was well below the current inflation rate.

Transport for London (TfL), which manages RfLI, urged the union to work with it to avoid disruption.

In a statutory ballot, 94% of the workers voted for strike action, with 92% backing other forms of industrial action.

The turnout for the workers, who manage the central operation system between Paddington and Abbey Wood, was well above the regulatory threshold of 50%, Prospect said.

Mike Clancy, general secretary of Prospect, added: "Our members have worked incredibly hard to get the Elizabeth Line ready to go safely into operation yet they are being treated significantly worse than equivalent workers on the rest of London's network.

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"The Elizabeth Line itself is now bringing in large extra passenger revenue for TfL and is underspent on its budget so there really ought to be room for some movement on pay.

"Our members don't want to go on strike but pay is so far behind inflation that they simply cannot manage.

"We remain open to negotiation and it is our hope that RfLI will come back to the table with an offer sufficient to avert industrial action."

The exact form and dates for industrial action will be decided in consultation with members.

Howard Smith, director of the Elizabeth line for TfL, said: "Strikes are bad news for everyone, and we urge Prospect to work with us and avoid the need for industrial action."

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