Night Tube services took a step closer to becoming a reality today after the Rail, Maritime and Transport union’s executive said it would recommend its members accept London Underground’s proposed pay and conditions deal.
The RMT’s 10,000 members will vote on the proposal on February 11, months after the service was due to start in September 2015.
RMT’s approval is only a quarter of what is required for the plans to go ahead as three other unions – ASLEF, TSSA and Unite – must all accept the offer.
Unite’s Shaun Noble said: “The situation is that Unite’s members have rejected the four year pay deal which was slightly improved.
“We represent the engineering and maintenance staff without which the 270-station network can’t function.
“Unite national officer for rail Hugh Roberts has asked for more talks with the LUL management and we reserve the right to take action in February.
“Nothing is finalised as yet and we have made no announcement.”
The London Underground’s offer to RMT members includes a 2% pay rise in year one, followed by, depending on which is greater, a 1% or RPI inflation rise in years two or three.
Year four will see another rise – depending on which is greater – of either RPI plus 0.25% or 1%, and a £500 bonus for staff working on the lines serviced by the night Tubes.
ASLEF is also believed to be in a position to accept a deal from TFL when their executives meet on February 8.
The night-time services will run on Fridays and Saturdays and will please residents from Clapham, Balham, Tooting and Wimbledon as they will be able to jump on a Northern line train home in the early hours of the morning.
The four other lines to be serviced by late night tubes are the Central, Jubilee, Piccadilly and Victoria lines.
Disputes over staff pay, conditions and working hours have been ongoing since the Night Tube was announced by the London mayor and disagreements sparked Tube strikes in the summer of 2015.
Image courtesy of TfL, with thanks
