Elizabeth Line – Strike suspended

Rail union TSSA has suspended strike action planned for next Wednesday (24 May) on London’s Elizabeth Line in a dispute over pay.

The move comes after the union won a revised pay proposal from management at Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI) and will now consult members about the way forward.

In January the dispute saw a one-day stoppage by dozens of TSSA members working on Britain’s busiest rail line after it emerged that many Elizabeth Line staff are paid thousands of pounds less than colleagues performing similar roles on other parts of the Transport for London (TfL) network.

TSSA members work in essential roles, including Traffic Manager, Service & Infrastructure Manager and Incident Response Manager grades. These are key hands on operational roles essential to the running of the railway.

Commenting TSSA Interim Organising Director, Mel Taylor, said, “We have had a very constructive meeting and as a result TSSA has agreed to suspend the strike action planned on 24th May.

“This will enable our teams to fully digest the changes and allow for further consultation and discussion over the coming days. We certainly do not take strike action lightly, but we have made this progress as a result of the action we have taken and planned to take.

“Elizabeth Line staff work weekends, nights and even Christmas Day. They are multi-skilled and operate the world's only fully digital railway, but many earn significantly less than the salary paid to other TfL staff in similar roles. That is clearly not an acceptable or sustainable position and it looks as though the company is waking up to the fact.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

· TSSA Members working on the Elizabeth Line voted by nine to one in favour of strike action last December.
· The Elizabeth Line is the UK's busiest railway, responsible for 1 in 6 of all journeys.
· TSSA is an independent trade union for the transport and travel industries. We have thousands of members right across the UK and Ireland, working for the railways and associated companies, as well as ferries, bus services and the travel trade.