Boris urges Tube workers to take pay offer and end strike misery

Mayor praised “heroic fortitude” of Londoners who made it to work yesterday
A woman skateboards to work during the Tube strike
Lucy Young

Boris Johnson today went over the heads of union bosses to appeal to Tube workers to end the strike action which has caused misery for millions of Londoners in the past two days.

Intervening in the dispute, the Mayor praised the “heroic fortitude” of Londoners who made it to work yesterday, some walking for hours, cycling or enduring long bus journeys.

He also spoke of the “heartbreaking” blow to the capital’s businesses, which lost millions due to the walkout, which closed all 11 Underground lines for 24 hours from Wednesday evening.

But union chiefs hit back, urging him to hold face-to-face talks with them to strike a deal in the row over the Night Tube. Mr Johnson is reluctant to be drawn into the negotiations, given the involvement of a high-profile political figure could undermine the work of London Underground bosses seeking to resolve the dispute.

However, speaking to the Standard, he urged Tube workers to accept the deal on offer, which he said most people would regard as “as very generous”, and to end the “madness” of the past two days.

With the RMT and Aslef unions threatening more strikes, Mr Johnson said: “Everyone wants a 24-hour Tube and to see improvements and we just have to get there.

“I am appealing to the Tube workforce, beyond the militant trade union leadership who are refusing to put this excellent offer to their membership and who are trying to hold Londoners to ransom.”

But Tube union leaders, angry that Mr Johnson is still refusing to meet them, warned that his stance and comments threatened to “inflame” the already volatile situation.

They also robustly denied the Mayor’s claims they had not put the new offer to their members, saying they had “consulted widely” across the network and it had been “resoundingly rejected”.

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Transport for London is refusing to delay the scheduled start of Night Tube on September 12 to allow more talks to take place.

Union leaders will meet in crisis session next week to plan further action — with a 48 hour walkout among the options.

The unions are demanding they meet “with the organ grinder, nobody else” in an effort to resolve the increasingly bitter dispute over the conditions on offer for Night Tube staff.

Mick Cash, leader of the biggest Tube union, the RMT, said: “The continued refusal of the London Mayor to have any direct contact with the transport unions, despite the fact that he is clearly in charge of the Tube dispute, is a ludicrous way to deal with a crisis that has developed on his watch.”

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