A union representative allegedly complained that work iPads being supplied to Tube drivers were “too small to watch Netflix” on.
The claim came as London was being hit with the the second day of this week’s RMT strikes, on Thursday.
Reforms to bring in a four-day week for Underground drivers, who earn around £74,000 a year, have been discussed on several rail forums.
On one of them, an ex-conductor who is now in middle management, posted: “Honestly, as much as I’m for unions, sometimes the reps just don’t help themselves.
“Rep at a recent meeting to give drivers tablets complained that the screen was too small to watch Netflix on, so they should be given bigger ones.
“Unreal stuff.”
There is no suggestion that the rep was from the RMT (The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers), or which union they are from.
It was also not clear if the comment was meant seriously or said half jokingly.
The RMT is staging a series of strikes in a dispute over the proposed reforms by Transport for London which it has branded a “fake” four-day week.
It has also raised concerns over fatigue among drivers, late notice of shifts, and is objecting to the roll-out of iPads to drivers which it has dismissed as a “manager in your home”.
In a memo in February, the union stressed: “Management aren’t rolling out iPads for our benefit, and RMT concern isn’t about them giving us documents on paper rather than a screen.
“The issue is they will use these devices to enable and maintain direct contact with us and to monitor and evidence more closely what we are doing.
“Once iPads have been rolled out the culture of how and when we interact with the boss will change irreversibly.
“We must stop it now.”
However, TfL rejected the criticism.
A spokesperson said: “Our colleagues in stations have had tablets for more than ten years to help assist customers with the latest real time travel information and log incidents.
“We are committed to making London Underground as efficient as possible and recognise that technology plays an important role in the modern workplace, to help us provide excellent customer service and a good working environment for our colleagues.”
The RMT’s position on strike action over the four-day week has also been severely undermined by the Aslef train drivers’ union accepting the reforms and trumpeting them as offering drivers the best working conditions on the mainline rail network.
Aslef has highlighted a series of benefits from the changes including an extra 35 days away from work a year, and average weekly rostered hours being cut to 34 from current average of 36.
They would make it easier to arrange roster patterns, it added, to block leave together, or take long weekends or mini-breaks, and would save money on travel and childcare costs.
For the first time, drivers would be allowed to volunteer for overtime which would be paid at time and a quarter under the reforms which Aslef says will deliver the “biggest improvement in working conditions for Underground train drivers in decades”.
Meanwhile, Sir Sadiq Khan has urged the RMT to get back to the negotiating table on Wednesday for last-minute talks to try to avert the Tube strike on Thursday.
The London Mayor issued the plea on Tuesday after the union inflicted travel disruption across most of the Underground network.
Most Tube lines were impacted by the first RMT walkout this week.
"TfL (Transport for London) are available today, they're available tomorrow to talk to the RMT," Sir Sadiq told the BBC.
"I'd encourage (RMT) and TfL to get in the room and resolve this around the table rather than the disruption industrial action causes."
