Rail for London Infrastructure (Elizabeth line) workers to strike again

After a solid strike on 20 December, RMT members at Rail for London Infrastructure (RfLI) have announced further action for 12 January.

RfLI is a TfL subsidiary, set up specifically to provide engineering maintenance services to the signalling system for the new Elizabeth line. Workers are striking to demand a decent pay settlement, having been offered 4% for this year and 4.4% for next year.

Despite having a significant shopfloor membership, RMT is not recognised on RfLI, with TSSA and Prospect having sole bargaining rights. Although these unions have been somewhat slower than RMT to get into action, TSSA members will join their RMT colleagues on strike on 12 January, with TSSA having named action for the same day, along with a work-to-rule lasting until 28 February.

Prospect members have also voted for strikes, with 94% voting for strikes and 92% voting for action short of strikes. Although it’s now too late for Prospect to officially call a strike for 12 January, Prospect members should do the principled thing and refuse to cross RMT and TSSA picket lines.

Longer-term, the recognition situation must be revisited, as it’s wrong that RMT’s minority but substantial membership is frozen out of formal negotiations. Unions must also coordinate struggles across the Elizabeth Line and beyond, involving directly-employed staff on stations and trains, and coordination future action with other TfL workers’ strikes wherever possible.