A leading transport union has threatened London-wide industrial action over the government’s “shameful” new funding package for TfL.
The £ 1.08 billion deal will financially secure TfL until December, but comes with several conditions.
TfL has been told it needs to ‘review’ its pension plan and freeze workers’ wages in line with the public sector wage freeze while receiving emergency funding from the government, and it also needs to work on upgrading. implementation of driverless trains on the metro network.
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT union, today called the deal a “shameful thing” and said “London is being held in ransom with a gun to its head”.
Mr Lynch said: “This is a shameful masquerade of a deal and it will be fought by our members whether it comes from Whitehall or City Hall through industrial action in the London scale if necessary.
“It is totally unacceptable that transport workers who have risked, and in some cases tragically lost their lives, are now being asked to pay this political price for the coronavirus.
“Attacks on workers’ pensions are totally unacceptable, while driverless trains are unwanted, unaffordable and dangerous.
“With funding only lasting until December, London is being held to ransom with a gun to its head rather than receiving the long-term stable funding deal that is needed to rebuild the economy as we go out. lock. ”
In a letter to Sadiq Khan outlining the details of the financing plan, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps clarified that he and TfL must “take all reasonable steps to avoid industrial action during the funding period” and that they must ” mitigate the impact ”of any industrial action. action if necessary.
As part of today’s deal, TfL is to find an additional £ 900m in savings this year and to increase revenue to £ 1bn per year from 2023.
While Sadiq Khan and the London Assembly have unanimously called on the government to transfer excise duties on vehicles levied in London to TfL, Grant Shapps today ruled this out in a letter to the Mayor of London.
Mr Shapps also said it “may not be fair” to impose a charge at the Greater London border on drivers entering the capital from elsewhere, as had been proposed as a new source of revenue. potential for TfL.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said today that “there are very few options” to raise the funds described in the funding agreement and that “forcing TfL to impose further draconian measures on London would be unacceptable”.
Mr Khan went on to say that he would “continue to work with the government to identify an appropriate source of funding,” adding that he “hopes” that the increase in tariff revenues as the lockdown unfolds. will mitigate avoid the need for further measures.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-01 16:00:28
