Annie Mole's, webmaster of Going Underground, daily web log (blog).
If you like this you'll LURVE One Stop Short of Barking, THE fun and informative BOOK about travelling on the London Underground.
Although there was a three-to-one vote in favour of strike action on February 19 by RMT's 6,500 London Underground members, you'll be pleased to hear that threatened strike has been called off. LUL have agreed to the four per cent wage increase, with no strings attached.
The RMT's site says "the breakthrough was due to the fact that the union's LUL members had shown they were not prepared to be pushed around."
Union leader Bob Crow added: "Management's decision has, at last, opened the way for the implementation of last year's pay deal. If London Underground management had not attempted to attach strings to the deal in the first place then we could have drawn a line under this matter more than a year ago."
The three-year agreement runs from April 2006 to April 2009 and provides for the following pay increases:
* Year 1 (payable from April 2006): 4 per cent * Year 2 (payable from April 2007): RPI+0.5 per cent (or 3 per cent whichever is greater) * Year 3 (payable from April 2008): RPI+0.6 per cent (or 3 per cent whichever is greater)
All Underground staff are also eligible for a bonus of £250 or £500 each year if customer satisfaction targets are met or exceeded. Ah that's just reminded me to put in my second customer charter refund claim of the day, but I digress.
Sheriff Ken said "This three-year agreement is great news for both Tube passengers and staff and is a real landmark achievement. Passengers will benefit from the stability provided by the first three-year deal for all staff in the history of the Underground."
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