Four-day Croydon Tramlink strike to go ahead after ‘bad faith’ talks.

A strike is set to start this weekend on Croydon Tramlink after a union accused Transport for London (TfL) of “bad faith” in negotiations.

Unite is holding the walkout from 8pm on Sunday until 6am on Thursday, with up to 60 engineers from the south London network set to down tools over pay disparities.

Unite called the strike on Thursday, saying they wanted tram drivers’ pay to be in line with London Underground staff. They said Tube workers can earn up to £10,000 more for equivalent roles, although both require the same qualifications.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is outrageous that TfL somehow thinks it is acceptable to systemically underpay highly skilled workers who are essential to keeping the tram system running.

“TfL negotiated in bad faith, breaking promises and withholding information. Unite’s patience has worn thin due to TfL’s disgraceful double-dealing and lack of transparency.

“Our members will now go on strike and have the full support of their Unite union behind them.”

It comes after strike action was called off for March when both sides reached a resolution.

A spokesman for Transport for London said: “We will never enter into conversations in bad faith and have been open and honest throughout the process.

“We have agreed to work with union colleagues to identify equivalent roles across London Underground, assess any differences in overall benefits packages and, where agreed, take action where appropriate. This will take time and we have asked that this strike be suspended to allow this to happen.

“We remain committed to continuing the dialogue to reach a conclusion and ask the union to suspend this action, which will only cause unnecessary inconvenience to our customers.”