London Underground drivers have voted in favour of the 34-hour, four-day working week that was offered last year by Transport for London as it sought to head off strike action.
Under the deal, weekly hours will drop from 38.5 – which include a break, at present unpaid, and a “banked hour” every week which is given back as time in lieu – to 35.
Members of Aslef, which represents 85% of Tube drivers, voted 70% in favour of the proposals, with an 80% turnout.
The new arrangements will see drivers’ average shift lengths increase to reflect the four-day week, from an average of 7 hours 42 minutes to 8 hours 30 minutes – 48 minutes extra. Rates of pay and the 7.4 weeks of annual leave will remain the same as now.
Train drivers are paid about £64,000, but can earn more with experience and extra responsibility.
Finn Brennan, Aslef’s full-time organiser on London Underground, said the result of the vote came despite a “campaign of disinformation and distortion by those who want to prevent drivers having improved working conditions and a better work-life balance.
“As a majority of members have voted in favour of the proposal, we will now be writing to the company to inform them of the result and to arrange a meeting to start detailed discussions on implementation.”
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Allowing for the paid break and one “owed hour”, drivers will spend 34 hours at work. The “owed hour” will be made up by working a five-day week about once every three months.
Aslef described the offer as “a once in a generation opportunity to achieve the improvement in quality of life that we have campaigned for over decades”.
However, members of the RMT union rejected the plan earlier this month. Eddie Dempsey, the RMT’s newly elected general secretary, said in a note to union members on 1 April: “I have advised the company that the offer is rejected and that RMT now expects the proposals to be withdrawn.”
TfL said the changes would allow greater flexibility with rosters and that making the meal break paid and “inside” the working day would resolve certain logistical issues.
The union has proposed its own four-day week plan, which would see the number of weekly hours worked fall to 32.
The plans, which would come into effect in 2027, formed part of last year’s pay talks but had to be voted on by drivers.
TfL said: “As agreed in the last pay deal, we have set out to our trade unions how a four-day working week might work for train drivers. The changes would not require any changes to the number of contractual hours worked by drivers or any increase in drivers’ annual leave, and would improve reliability, improve our ability to flexibly deploy our drivers and enable us to offer a modern and efficient service while creating no additional cost.
“We’re aware that both trade unions have run a referendum of their members and we await all results. We will continue to engage with our trade unions about the four-day week and other points that would make London Underground better for our colleagues and our customers.”
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