Tube drivers offered £80,000 new pay deal as TfL bids to avoid further strikes
Union members brought London to a standstill during a five-day walkout in September
Tube drivers have been offered £80,000 a year in a new pay deal.
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Transport for London (TfL) presented the revised proposal to the capital’s four Tube unions on Monday in a bid to avert further strike action.
Tube drivers currently earn around £71,000.
This comes after RMT members brought the Underground to a standstill during a five-day walkout in September.
Commuters faced packed buses, long queues and gridlocked roads, with most Underground lines shut down throughout the week.
Under the deal, a Tube driver’s base salary would rise from £71,170 to at least £77,692 by April 2027 - or more if inflation remains above three per cent.
Read More: Misery and chaos for London commuters during Tube strike - as TfL website crashes
Station staff earning around £45,000 could see pay increase to almost £50,000.
TfL has described the proposal as its “full and final offer”, covering all 16,500 London Underground employees.
It does not include a “no-strike” clause, but management hopes its terms will prevent further ballots for industrial action.
The updated three-year deal maintains the headline offer of annual pay increases in line with the Retail Price Index (RPI) but now includes minimum guarantees should inflation fall.
The third year would see pay rise by 0.2 percentage points above RPI to ensure wages keep ahead of the cost of living.
The offer also leaves unchanged TfL’s stance on working hours - rejecting RMT’s demand for a 32-hour, four-day week.
Tube station staff will continue to work 35 hours over five days, while work continues on a 35-hour, four-day week pilot for drivers.
The pay terms are as follows:
- 2025/26: 3.4% rise, matching RPI in February 2025, backdated to April.
- 2026/27: Rise matching February 2026 RPI, with a minimum increase of 3%.
- 2027/28: Increase 0.2 points above February 2027 RPI, with a minimum rise of 2.5%.
TfL Commissioner Andy Lord told the TfL board: "We hope the [unions] will accept, and put the proposal to their members, and that we can reach agreement as soon as possible."
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey told LBC: "We're still in negotiations, we're making progress, we're going through the usual steps, consulting our members, and that will continue over the coming days".
Asked if he could rule out future strikes, he added: "Absolutely not. We're never afraid to negotiate but we're never afraid to fight for our members".
Aslef, which represents most Tube drivers, will meet later this week to discuss the proposal and is expected to recommend acceptance.
Meanwhile, London Mayor Sadiq Khan is set to use a speech to business leaders tonight to renew his call for Government investment in major transport projects - including extending the DLR to Thamesmead, the Bakerloo line to Lewisham, and the West London Orbital route.
He is expected to say: "Take Thamesmead. It’s only a mile north of Abbey Wood, where the Elizabeth line has fuelled a housebuilding boom.
"But a lack of transport links mean Thamesmead has struggled. Extending the DLR to Thamesmead could support the construction of up to 30,000 homes, creating 10,000 jobs."
Mr Khan will urge Chancellor Rachel Reeves to fund at least one of the projects in next month’s Budget, calling them crucial to "transforming the future of transport in the capital".