Sadiq Khan signals support for striking TfL workers’ pension demands as RMT union votes for walkouts

Striking workers on the London Underground have been given a thin glimmer of hope, as Sadiq Khan appeared to signal his backing for union demands not to cut staff pensions.

The London mayor said on Thursday that he was “not persuaded that there are any grounds to change the pensions of those who work” for Transport for London (TfL), adding: “It’s for the government to make the case.”

But his comments came as workers “decisively” reaffirmed their backing for further industrial action over the long-running dispute, raising the prospect of further disruption over the coming months.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are set to press ahead with their third national strike this week on Saturday, while Tube workers staged separate walkouts in March and June.

But by law, the RMT had to reballot its members for their support to continue with future strikes, and more than 90 per cent of those who voted on a 53 per cent turnout backed future industrial action – handing the union a legal mandate for action to continue into December.

While no new strike dates have been set, they will be decided by the union’s executive in due course.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch hailed “a fantastic result for our members” which he said “proves that the arguments RMT has been making is endorsed by Tube workers”.

Mr Lynch said: “We are acutely aware of the funding cuts being foisted on TfL by the Westminster government.

“However, Mayor Sadiq Khan needs to mount a serious campaign for the people of London, to get the capital city the funding it deserves for its public transport. He should not be trying to sacrifice our members’ pensions and jobs to fit within budget restraints laid down by Boris Johnson.”

As a condition of the government’s Covid bail-out for London’s transport operator last year, TfL was told to carry out a review of its pension scheme and reform options.

In a resulting review commissioned by Mr Khan, former union boss Sir Brendan Barber identified TfL’s pensions scheme as “the only benefit of substance (other than pay) on offer to TfL employees” and a “highly valued asset across all sections of the workforce”.

While Sir Brendan suggested that alterations to the pensions scheme could save between £79.3m and £182.4m per year, he did not make any explicit recommendation that the scheme – which he said was “very well run with a sophisticated investment strategy” – should be reformed.

Sir Brendan…