More London Trams strikes confirmed

The ongoing dispute on London Trams has escalated with more dates announced for strike action by engineering staff represented by Unite the Union. This dispute has been ongoing since earlier this year and is over pay where the union claim engineers working on the trams can earn around £10,000 less than their counterparts who work on London Underground.

When strikes were first announced for March, TfL and Unite agreed to meet for talks to resolve the issue which led to those March dates to be suspended. But with the talks breaking down (Unite alleging TfL went into the talks with no intention of seriously considering the issue), the dates which had been announced at the same time for May went ahead, causing major disruption to services on the London Trams network,

Now, seemingly with no further progress made in talks, the previously announced strikes for July will be going ahead and Unite have added further earlier dates as well. Engineers will now be on strike from Sunday 30^th June until Monday 8^th July and then from Thursday 11^th to Monday 15^th July.

The problems all relate to the fact that engineers on London Trams have office worker contracts which the Union says means they can not negotiate collectively. As mentioned above its also claimed they can earn £10,000 less than engineers on London Underground. At the talks previously held Unite say that TfL agreed that if any disparities were found then they would work up a plan to bring them more into line. For their part TfL said at the time that this would take time.

Speaking now the new strikes dates have been announced, Navid Golshan, General Manager for London Trams, said: “We urge Unite the Union to work with us to find a resolution and call these strikes off.  Customers planning to use London Trams services are encouraged to check before they travel, allow extra time for their journeys, and check the TfL website or the TfL Go app for the latest travel information.”

Bruce Swann, Unite regional officer, said: “The blame for the disruption that will be caused lies squarely at the door of TfL. Our members have bent over backwards to give TfL the opportunity to resolve this dispute before more industrial action was called. Unfortunately, TfL has engaged in time wasting and obfuscation. Strikes could be avoided, but TfL needs to rapidly table a solution to the issues that have led to such large and unfair pay inequalities.”

During the strikes the following advice is given:

Sunday 30^th June

Passengers should aim to complete journeys by 2000 as services may need to finish earlier than normal

Monday 1^st to Friday 5^th July

• No services before 0700 or after 1800
• A reduced service will run from 0700 until 1800 between Wimbledon and Reeves Corner and East Croydon and Beckenham Junction/New Addington
• Next tram information displayed at tram stops will offer limited information

Saturday 6^th and Sunday 7^th July

• There is a planned track closure for maintenance between East Croydon and Beckenham Junction/Elmers End/New Addington
• No services before 0700 or after 1800
• A reduced service will run from 0700 until 1800 between Wimbledon and Reeves Corner
• Next tram information displayed at tram stops will offer limited information

Monday 8^th July

• Services expected to start later than normal with possible disruption throughout the day
• Next tram information displayed at tram stops will offer limited information

Tuesday 9^th to Thursday 11^th July

• Normal service expected to operate but some disruption is possible

Friday 12^th to Sunday 14^th July

• No services before 0700 or after 1800
• A reduced service will run from 0700 until 1800 between Wimbledon and Reeves Corner and East Croydon and Beckenham Junction/New Addington
• Next tram information displayed at tram stops will offer limited information

Monday 15^th July

• Services expected to start later than normal with possible disruption throughout the day
• Next tram information displayed at tram stops will offer limited information

With the tennis at Wimbledon due to get underway from Monday 1^st July, there is likely to be significant disruption with other local transport also under pressure as people attempt to continue their journeys without the trams in operation.