Tube staff have been offered a three-year pay deal that could avert the threat of more strikes on the London Underground.
The deal would provide a 3.4 per cent rise for the current financial year, followed by an amount equal to the RPI rate of interest for 2026/27 and 2027/28.
This could mean that all 16,500 Tube staff see their wages rise by around 10 per cent over the three-year period.
Tube drivers earn around £71,000 while the starting salary for station staff is about £35,000, rising quickly to about £45,000.
The offer was made by Transport for London negotiators on Monday in discussions with all four Tube unions – the RMT, Aslef, Unite and the TSSA – in a meeting at TfL’s Palestra headquarters in Southwark.
Crucially, TfL does not appear to have given in to the demands from the RMT union for a reduction in the 35-hour working week on the Tube.
The RMT’s five-day strike earlier this month, called in a bid to secure a reduction in hours, caused chaos to millions of commuters.
The RMT’s long-term aim is for a 32-hour, four-day working week.
TfL said this was unaffordable and impractical.
Improved pay offer for tube workers
— RMT (@RMTunion) September 29, 2025
TUBE union RMT received an improved offer from London Underground today following successful strike action earlier this month.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey congratulated members for their steadfast support for strike action.
“This… pic.twitter.com/5O9VP5BDxF
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey said on Monday afternoon: “This offer will now be discussed by the national executive committee and in consultation with the membership.
“As a result, the union remains in dispute with London Underground subject to the will of the membership under our democratic structures.”
Finn Brennan, Aslef’s London regional organiser, said: “We recognise this is a serious offer. We will now consult with our reps before deciding on our next steps.”
Tube staff previously benefited from a four-year deal that resulted in an eight per cent hike in 2022, the last of the years, due to the soaring rate of RPI inflation at the time.
The 3.4 per cent offered for the current financial year had already been tabled by TfL, and was not a key element of the dispute between the RMT and TfL.
However the other three unions had not formally accepted the 3.4 per cent, which matches the RPI rate in February – the month used for Tube pay calculations.
If the RMT executive recommends that the union’s 10,000 members vote in favour of the pay deal, it is likely to be seen as a victory by TfL and London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, who chose not to get involved in the current dispute.
However the cost to TfL is not yet known – though the size of the pay award is not far beyond what the unions would have been seeking in what tends to be annual pay negotiations.
All four unions would have to accept the pay deal before it can be introduced by TfL. All staff would then receive a lump sum in “back pay” covering the period since April.
No new strike dates had been called by the RMT, though its six-month strike ballot, backed by a majority of members who voted, remains valid.
