London Trams strike that was due to affect Wimbledon called off

A fresh set of strikes that were due to take place on London Trams (formerly called Croydon Tramlink, and part of Transport for London), has been called off.  It would have followed  a four-day strike in May.

The strikes were going to affect transport to this year’s Wimbledon tennis championships. The station’s Wimbledon interchange with Network Rail is one of four termini on the 17-mile system.

Engineers who maintain the trams and infrastructure first went on strike in March. They were seeking pay parity with staff at TfL’s London Underground, who are paid up to £10,000 a year more yet require the same qualifications and perform the same roles.

As with the aftermath of the May strike, a maintenance backlog is building up that will result in continued similar disruption (daytime-only services) for a number of weeks.

Following the initial strikes, Unite agreed to postpone further industrial action to engage with TfL.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Congratulations to the London Trams engineers who secured this deal by standing together in their union and taking strike action.

“This is yet another example of how Unite’s laser-like focus on defending and improving jobs, pay and conditions is delivering for our members.”