Tube strike: TfL admits it has not advertised externally for Tube drivers since 2008

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Transport for London has admitted that it has not advertised job vacancies for Tube drivers outside union members since 2008.

London’s transport network responded to a Freedom of Information request over the number of Tube drivers hired in the past three years and admitted that Tube positions were only advertised internally.

It comes as many social media users claimed they could do the drivers’ jobs – noting their comparatively high salaries and 36-hour weeks – but it turns out they would not even be able to apply in the first place.

TfL wrote back to the FoI request: “We have not run a [recruitment] campaign to the general public since 2008.”

It appears that the workers unions have an effective monopoly over the recruitment process, with RMT (one of the four striking from Wednesday evening) blocking attempts by London Underground in 2013 to recruit from “the open market”.

Meanwhile, London’s commuters are braced for travel chaos as the Underground shuts down for 24-hours from 6.30pm on Wednesday.