After weeks of speculation, the “long term funding settlement” between the Government and Transport for London (TfL) finally arrived and, to no one’s surprise, turned out to be neither “long term” nor a “settlement”, argue the train drivers’ union ASLEF.

Prior to the pandemic, the Tory Government stopped all central funding of TfL. While they have provided emergency funding during the pandemic, central subsidy of London’s transport is far less than that of other comparable world cities.

The new deal runs until March 2024, just 18 months, and rather than settling the disputes over how public transport in London will operate and be funded, it sets up numerous conflicts for the future.

Paragraph 11e of the document, for example, says that if London is to keep free travel for under 16s and those aged 60 to 65 then the cost will not be met by the Government. But neither can TfL use “borrowings, savings, service changes, the new revenue streams” to cover the cost. It is a straightforward attempt to strip young Londoners of badly needed travel concessions while avoiding the blame for doing so.

Paragraph 22 says that Government money must not be used for the introduction of the London Wide Ultra-Low Emission Zone.  “The quality of the air that Londoners breathe is far less important to the Transport Secretary than making sure that he has plausible deniability on a policy that may be unpopular with Tory voting car owners,” said Finn Brennan, ASLEF District Organiser.

He added: “Our old friend ‘driverless trains’ are back. It doesn’t matter how many times transport experts point out that the idea makes no sense, or TfL patiently explains that the business case doesn’t stack up, they must commit to ‘further studies and wider research’. Rather like in a children’s story, the Government seem to believe that if you spread some fairy dust and just wish hard enough, the trains somehow will start to drive themselves and all those nasty trade union members will just disappear.

“But while they may wish hard, they won’t actually fund the infrastructure that would be needed for driverless trains. There is no money for new signalling on the Piccadilly line or for new rolling stock on the Bakerloo or Central lines to replace the current fleet of trains that is quite literally falling to pieces.”

The deal raises the issue of the need to reform staff pensions. ASLEF are clear that any attempt to change the pension benefits members receive will mean “an industrial, legal and political fight that will last much longer than the current Government.”

“The trade unions were not party to this agreement, we will not be bound by its terms,” said Brennan. “ASLEF will submit our pay claim next year, in line with our national policies and based on the RPI rate just as we have done in previous years. And we will fight just as hard as we have done in previous years to get a fair deal for our members.”

The RMT union take a similar view. They warn that the deal struck by TfL and ministers will attack tube workers’ pay and pensions and will lead to further strike action.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “This deal negotiated in secret by TfL and government ministers will likely see our members’ pensions attacked and further pay restraint in the future, coupled with driverless trains. Grant Shapps’ attack on tube workers would be unacceptable at any time but in an escalating cost of living crisis it is shameful and will be resisted through further strike action.”

The transport clerical workers union TSSA confirmed that it will also ballot for action across its Tfl membership.

London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan conceded that the savings TfL will have to make will likely lead to fare rises and cuts to services, adding that the “onerous strings” attached to the agreement by the Government “could well lead to more industrial action and more disruption for commuters.” Insiders are talking about a 14% fare increase.

Critics say Mayor Khan’s approach to the funding problem has been managerialist, not campaigning. Had he mounted a campaign for central funding for TfL, without strings, on the basis that governments elsewhere do this and the importance of transport to London, he would have got support not only from the labour movement but also from many businesses in London.

Sadiq Khan hasn’t done this. So it has been left to the transport unions – RMT, TSSA, ASLEF and Unite – to lead the campaigning. Besides action by the rail workers’ unions, there are signs that Unite – often criticised in the past for its poor representation of London bus workers – are putting fresh energy, under its new leader Sharon Graham, into campaigns over pay and conditions and against cuts on the capital’s bus network.

Earlier this week, transport unions held a packed rally in the capital to Save London transport, with star billing going to Socialist US Senator Bernie Sanders. RMT President Alex Gordon, introducing the rally’s many speakers, accused the managers of London Transport of presiding over a process that they themselves have labelled “managed decline”, reducing tube services by 10%, cutting 22 bus routes and reducing the service on 60 further routes.

He said the new deal between the Government and Tfl included a £740 million funding gap, in addition to the £730m year on year recurring cuts programme that Tfl has already committed to. He described the situation as a “public transport disaster” and called for the public transport system that earns London £36bn a year to be properly funded.

John McDonnell MP expressed his solidarity to the rally, calling the attack on London’s transport an attack on the whole working class. He called on MPs to go on picket lines in support of transport workers taking action.

A video recording of the rally can be seen here.

Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_line_%28London_Underground%29. Creator: Tom Page. Copyright: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic