Tube drivers have rejected an offer put forward by Transport for London for a four-day working week, raising the threat of industrial action.
Underground managers offered its drivers the flexible working arrangement that would have come into effect from 2027.
But more than 1,200 members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) have voted against accepting the plans.
This is despite shop stewards conceding that the proposal involved “significantly increased flexibility” for staff.
In return for an additional day off, drivers would have been asked to work the same 35 hours a week that they do at present while retaining their salaries.
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Tube drivers are offered free travel on the TfL network and a 75 per cent discount on National Rail Season Tickets
Tube Operators and Instructors have a fixed wage of £63,901 and £66,649, respectively, and drivers can already earn north of £70,000 if they take on more shifts.
They also enjoy benefits including a generous pension scheme, free travel on the TfL network and a 75 per cent discount on National Rail Season Tickets.
Sources told The Telegraph that drivers having a day off could “significantly impact” their working lives.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said in a note to union members on April 1: “I have advised the company that the offer is rejected and that RMT now expects the proposals to be withdrawn.”
The union has proposed its own four-day week plan, which would see the number of weekly hours worked fall to 32.
They also called on the Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan to give its members priority access to social housing.
Meanwhile, the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASELF), which represents around 2,000 Tube drivers, has encouraged its members to back the “once in a generation” changes.
There are currently no tube strikes scheduled for London’s transport network.
However, Tube drivers were originally offered the “ground-breaking” deal back in November — which also included paid meal breaks — to avert strikes in the run-up to Christmas.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner signalled last year that four-day weeks could become the norm across the public sector.
This plan is riddled with potential pitfalls that could significantly impact our working lives
Yet officials from her Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government said in November that it is “not government policy to support a general move to a four-day working week for five days’ worth of pay”, a position the RMT also reportedly holds.
Keith Prince, the City Hall Conservative’s Transport Spokesman, told The Standard: "A valuable lesson has been learnt by the unions that you can't expect to work fewer hours and still get paid the same — I'm only surprised it's taken them this long to realise.
“They may get free travel but there's no such thing as a free lunch — welcome to the world of work that the rest of London lives in.”
A TfL spokesman said: “As agreed in the last pay deal, we have set out to our trade unions how a four-day working week might work for train drivers.
“The changes would not require any changes to the number of contractual hours worked by drivers or any increase in drivers’ annual leave, and would improve reliability, improve our ability to flexibly deploy our drivers and enable us to offer a modern and efficient service while creating no additional cost.”
