Anger as London Underground staff awarded £33 million pay rise

​Mayor Sadiq Khan was today accused of ‘wasting money on the wrong priorities’, as it emerged that over 18,000 London Underground staff received a 3.85 percent pay rise this year.
 
Freedom of Information data shows that the pay award cost TfL nearly £33 million, which comes as the transport budget is nearly £1 billion in deficit. 
 
The pay rise given to tube staff is nearly double that of other public sector staff, including the police, who received a 2 percent wage increase this year. The new figures show that awarding Underground staff a rise in line with local government would have cost TfL nearly £16 million less.  

Commenting, Keith Prince AM said:
 
“After the cancellation of major transport infrastructure projects and a series of Underground strikes, Londoners will be shocked to learn that the mayor has wasted millions on a massive pay rise for tube staff.
 
“This will come as a slap in the face for the millions of public sector workers whose wages are not rising at the same rate. Why should tube staff receive a bigger pay rise than police officers?
 
“This is yet further evidence that the mayor is happy wasting money on the wrong priorities. Giving tube staff a 2 percent pay rise in line with the rest of the public sector would have saved nearly £16m; that’s money which could have been spent on upgrading our tube network.
 
“The mayor should focus on the needs of Londoners rather than the demands of his union paymasters”.