Last-minute deal saves London from major transport shutdown

London commuters got good news when Aslef union dropped its planned tube strikes that were set for Nov-7 and Nov-12. The decision came after getting better pay-deal from Transport for London

The strikes would have stopped about 5-million daily trips causing huge problems for people who use the tube network (which is almost every line except Elizabeth line and DLR). Other transport options like buses and roads wouldʼve been super-busy too

Finn Brennan from Aslef said: “We got better offer in new talks; so were putting strikes on hold“. The union will talk about details with its members on thursday. The fight was about making tube drivers pay and hours same as other TfL workers

Following intense negotiations with London Underground management and a significantly improved offer‚ we have suspended the strikes

This comes after another union - RMT - also stopped its strikes last friday. TfLʼs current deal includes 3.8% pay-rise which means drivers could get £70k per year. Claire Mann from TfL thinks its a fair deal thatʼs good for workers and London

The unions main points were:
* Making work-hours same as Elizabeth line drivers
* Getting paid meal breaks
* Equal pay across different TfL services

TfLʼs chief operating officer is happy with progress but wants to keep talking with unions to make sure everything works-out