When planned strikes affecting London Trams services were suspended back in March it was said by Unite the Union that this was to allow meaningful talks to take place, but the proposed dates in May and July were kept in the diary in case this didn’t result in a satisfactory outcome. It would now appear that is what has happened at Transport for London have now confirmed details of services which will run on the trams between 5th and 9th May.
These strikes have been called by engineers who work at Therapia Lane Depot who say that they can receive £10,000 less than those performing a similar role on London Underground. This is down to the fact that their contracts are the same as office workers although they’re fulfilling technical roles. Not only has this caused their pay not to be as high but also prevented them from collectively negotiating pay as a distinct bargaining group.
TfL has previously agreed to a change in their contracts but this has not been forthcoming, despite the fact negotiations have been ongoing for over five years. When strikes were called earlier this year, three sets of dates were announced – March, May and July. The March dates were suspended for meaningful talks but the other dates were kept active in case they were needed and it now seems that is the case.
The strike will take place from 2000 on Sunday 5th to 0600 on Thursday 9th May.
During this period the following service will run:
- Sunday 5th May – normal service
- Monday 6th to Wednesday 8th May – no service between 0700 and after 1800. Between 0700 and 1800 services to run Wimbledon-Reeves Corner and East Croydon-Beckenham Junction/New Addington
- Thursday 9th May – later start to services and possible disruption during the rest of the day
A further strike is planned between Thursday 11th and Monday 15th July.