Elizabeth Line strikes called off after union receives new pay offer

A strike that would have caused “significant disruption” on the Elizabeth line has been postponed. Aslef, which had called the line’s drivers out on strike, made the announcement on Tuesday afternoon. It said in a statement: “Following a revised offer from MTR, which Aslef’s executive committee will consider tomorrow morning [Wednesday 25 February] strike action on Thursday 27 February and Saturday 1 March is suspended.”.

Aslef had planned four 24-hour walkouts over the next fortnight in a dispute over pay and working conditions. Earlier this month the drivers overwhelmingly rejected a 4.5 per cent increase that would have increased a typical salary by £3,261 to £75,726 for a 34-hour, four-day week.

Aslef was in talks with MTR, the private firm that operates the Elizabeth line for Transport for London, on Tuesday. The breakthrough came only hours after TfL decided to issue travel advice, to give passengers as much notice as possible of the likely scale of the disruption.

TfL warned there would be “no service” on most of the “Lizzie line” – the busiest railway in the country, with about 770,000 journeys on weekdays – and only a “significantly reduced” service on its eastern section between Liverpool Street and Shenfield.

TfL said the planned strikes on Thursday and Saturday would result in “no services running between Abbey Wood and Reading/Heathrow”, including the section of the railway from Paddington to Abbey Wood under central London. On Tuesday morning, MTR said it had made an “enhanced offer” that included drivers earning one-and-a-half times their normal rate for working on a rest day. But it has not budged on the 4.5 per cent pay rise figure.

The other two strike days were Saturday March 8 and Monday March 10. Announcements about whether strikes will happen on these days will depend on whether Aslef accepts the enhanced conditions on offer. Mike Bagshaw, managing director for MTR Elizabeth line, said prior to Aslef’s announcement: “Following intensive talks with Aslef to resolve this dispute and avoid disruptive strike action for our customers, we have put forward an enhanced offer, including a 1.5x rate for rest day working with further improvements to terms and conditions.

“This builds upon the original offer of a 4.5 per cent pay increase and enhanced terms and conditions, which would have maintained some of the highest salaries in the industry. “In the meantime, we have worked closely with Transport for London to implement a robust contingency plan, ensuring customers are informed of alternative travel options during the strike.”.