By Ilaria Grasso Macola
Greater London Authority’s Conservatives have blamed mayor Sadiq Khan for today’s Tube strike.
“Londoners are facing yet another disruptive strike under Sadiq Khan’s watch, despite his broken promise of zero strikes,” GLA transport spokesperson Nick Rogers said today.
“Militant unions are striking because they know Sadiq Khan is too weak to stand up to them and deliver much needed reforms to the bloated pension scheme.”
City Hall and Transport for London (TfL) were approached for comment.
Despite calling off this week’s rail strikes, the RMT announced yesterday afternoon that today’s industrial action would go on following a breakdown in talks.
Union bosses accused TfL of missing “a golden opportunity to make progress in these negotiations and avoid strike action.”
For its part, the public body said no proposals to change pensions and conditions were made and “nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals TfL has set out.”
The network needs to reform its workers’ pension scheme in exchange for a £1.2bn government funding deal, which will keep the capital moving until Spring 2024.
According to Richard Burge, chief executive of the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, strikes will only hinder London’s competitiveness on the global economic stage.
“A city which cannot maintain a consistently efficient transport system cannot credibly attract and keep the business, investment, and talent our economy needs,” he told City A.M.
“Ongoing transport disruption risks hindering investment and deterring the international partners that make London a global centre for business and finance.”
Burge’s comments were echoed by London HQ’s chief Ruth Duston, who warned about the strike’s impact on retail and hospitality businesses.
“Hospitality businesses in the capital, as elsewhere in the UK, are currently grappling with soaring costs and chronic staff shortages, all amid a mounting economic crisis and are struggling just to survive,” added Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality.
“Under these circumstances, the cumulative effect of successive strikes by rail and tube workers is a genuine blow for businesses that need staff to be able to get into work and customers to be able to come into the city to socialise.”
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