'Pushover' Sadiq Khan slammed for 'spineless capitulation' to trade unions
Tube strikes: 'Congratulate Sadiq Khan for being grown up' to stop 'MISERY' …
Sadiq Khan has been accused of "spineless capitulation" to trade unions by Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall.
Just minutes before a four-day walkout on the London Underground was set to begin, the London Mayor found more money in the TfL budget to hand over a bumper pay packet to rail workers.
It is understood the Mayor of London spent the weekend talking to trade union leaders directly in an attempt to avert the strikes.
But in an opinion piece for GB News, Hall dubbed the move "desperate", saying: "Clearly the embarrassment of facing 140 strikes under his watch, far more than his two predecessors combined, was too much for him to handle.
Sadiq Khan has been accused of "spineless capitulation" to trade unions by Conservative mayoral candidate Susan Hall
PA
"Especially when he promised no strikes on his watch, when he was campaigning back in 2016.
"Over the weekend, he stepped in to throw taxpayers’ money at the problem and try to make it go away."
She added: "It's nothing but a spineless capitulation to union demands, with Londoners footing the bill.
"£30 million - that's a whole month's takings from his unfair and punitive Ulez expansion tax, a burden that hits the poorest Londoners the hardest.
"And what do we get for this enormous price? A suspension of industrial action, not an all-out cancellation.
"Be in no doubt that the RMT will be back on strike after the election, if not earlier.
"They know Sadiq Khan is a pushover – his re-election campaign is funded by trade unions, after all.
"They will demand more and more, causing chaos on our transport network to force his hand. We may well have exchanged strikes today for worse strikes tomorrow."
But a spokesperson for the Mayor said: “The absolute worst outcome for Londoners and businesses would have been a week of strike action this week causing huge disruption in the capital.
"The hospitality industry alone warned of a £50m loss of income if strikes had lasted throughout the week.
"The Mayor has always said that negotiation and talking with workers is the best way to settle disputes, while the Government’s approach has seen years of strikes across national rail, the NHS and education."
“Negotiations have been ongoing related to the annual London Underground pay review for 2023-24, a time of exceptionally high inflation.
"As agreement could not be reached within the resources available to TfL, the Mayor has taken the decision to allocate additional funding to TfL as part of the City Hall budget process.”
After this week's strike was called off, Khan accused the Government of taking an "adversarial" approach to the unions.
He also said that he was "delighted" that the strikes have been suspended.
Khan continued: "They would have caused huge disruption for Londoners and would have been a major blow to the capital’s businesses at the worst possible time.
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"The week of action would have cost our hospitality industry £50m alone.
“This shows what can be achieved by engaging and working with trade unions and transport staff, rather than working against them.
"In contrast, the adversarial approach taken by ministers has led to years of strikes across the country, whether on national rail, or in our health and education services - all exacerbated by the cost-of-living crisis.
“The suspension of strikes is really good news as commuters return after the New Year.”