Ballot papers arrive this week. Your vote is crucial to protecting your future at work.

From Tuesday April 19th, ASLEF will once again be asking you to return your ballot papers with a YES vote.

Over the last two years we successfully made sure that London Underground management stuck to agreements, including honouring our pay deal, because you supported your union and gave us a mandate for industrial action if needed. We now have to renew that mandate by a re-ballot as the law requires us to do this every six months.

Our demand is very simple, we want an unequivocal commitment from London Underground that changes to agreements, working conditions and pension arrangements will only be made by agreement. The previous YES votes you delivered means we were able to prevent a new Attendance At Work procedure being imposed and stopped management using the pandemic as an excuse to undermine your working conditions and impose “flexibility”.

The current funding deal with the Government only runs until June and plans for big service cuts are already being drawn up. Hundreds of jobs are being lost on stations and we know management want to be able to do the same on trains. That would mean big changes to the Trains Framework and other agreements, so that instead of recruiting new drivers, they could make you work even harder and for longer.

ASLEF have always been clear that we are prepared to negotiate. We want any changes to come by agreement and to make improvements to working conditions that give better work life balance and more quality time off. We cannot allow the effects of the pandemic to be used as an excuse to undermine the progress we have made in the past.

But your union reps will only be able to protect and improve conditions if you once again give us the ballot mandate we need to take action if management try to force through changes without agreement. Without a big YES vote, the company and the government will have a green light to do whatever they want.

That is why your vote is so crucial to protecting your future at work. Any ballot paper not returned effectively counts as a negative vote; without a high turnout we cannot meet the threshold the law requires for us to be able to take action. So please, when you ballot paper arrives this week, vote YES and return it as soon as you can.

If you haven’t received a ballot paper by the end of this week, contact your local ASLEF rep or email info@aslef.org.uk with your details. Unreturned ballot papers could leave your union unable to act to protect your conditions so please send yours back with a YES vote and talk to workmates to make sure they do the same.

With best regards,

Finn Brennan

ASLEF District Organiser.