Boris Johnson has taken aim at Sadiq Khan after he bowed to pressure from unions by offering an increased pay deal to avoid chaos caused by London Underground strikes.
Johnson says it is a “foretaste” of what the nation could expect under the Labour Party. The RMT union announced it suspended a four-day strike just 20 minutes before it was due to start after the Mayor of London found cash for a “significantly improved” funding offer.
Khan had accused the Government of taking an “adversarial approach” to unions. The Mayor of London had promised “zero strike days” during his election campaign – but has seen 130 during his mayoralty, reports The Telegraph.
Khan said: “This shows what can be achieved by engaging and working with trade unions and transport staff, rather than working against them.”
Johnson, who was London mayor before Khan, suggested the decision to find more funding for unions shows how a Labour government would act. He told The Telegraph: “Sadiq Khan’s epic show of apathy, and failure to deal with the unions, is only a foretaste of what the nation could expect under Labour.”
Rishi Sunak is expected to put the economy at the front of his re-election bid. He wants to encourage restrained public spending amid pay demands from striking unions.
The RMT called off its strike action at 5.10pm on Sunday – just 20 minutes before commuters were told to complete their journey. Transport for London (TfL) confirmed there will still be disruption on Monday morning.
TfL is understood to have originally offered a below-inflation icnrease of 5% to workers. But Mick Lynch hailed “further positive discussions” and said pay talks will continue.
Lynch said: “This significantly improved funding position means the scheduled strike action will be suspended with immediate effect and we look forward to getting into urgent negotiations with TfL in order to develop a suitable agreement and resolution to the dispute.”
The Telegraph says the intervention from the Mayor appeared to take TfL by surprise. The company said it would not be able to meet the pay demands from workers and that Khan only confirmed more money could be provided on Saturday.
A TfL spokesman said: “This intervention from the mayor has been discussed with the unions, and the RMT union has now suspended the planned strike action.”
It is understood the money for the deal has come from planning for the latest annual budget. Khan’s office believed strike action could cost the capital’s hospitality industry £50 million alone, reports The Telegraph.
Khan had decided not to use minimal service requirement laws brought in last year to prevent industrial action. His team said the power would not be effective.
Susan Hall, the Tory mayoral candidate who will take on Mr Khan when he stands for re-election in May, said: “While I am pleased the strikes have been postponed, the reality is Sadiq Khan has only bought himself some breathing room before the election.
“So long as our Mayor is in the pocket of his party’s union paymasters, TfL strikes will continue to cause needless disruption.”
