9 October 2025
RMT Press Office:
Transport union RMT today welcomed the intervention by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, in calling for an urgent pause to damaging government changes to the Skilled Worker visa scheme which threaten the jobs of hundreds of mainline rail and Tube workers in the capital.
The Mayor has urged Ministers to introduce transitional protections for existing workers already in post and to delay implementation of the reforms until the Migration Advisory Committee completes its review of shortage occupations.
The move follows campaigning by RMT, which has been pressing City Hall to act in defence of Transport for London workers facing the loss of their jobs and right to remain in the UK due to the government’s removal of key roles, including Rail Travel Assistant, from the Skilled Worker visa list.
In Mayor Question Time today, Sadiq Khan confirmed he has called for protections for workers already in role before the reforms were announced. His Deputy Mayor for Transport, Seb Dance, also has written to the government, warning:
“I therefore urge the Government to consider immediate transitional protections, beyond what has already been set out, for existing employees who took up their roles prior to the reforms.
"I also urge the Government to pause implementation until the Migration Advisory Committee completes its review of shortage occupations, especially given the specific requirement to consider occupations that are ‘crucial to the delivery of the Industrial Strategy or critical infrastructure.’”
RMT has warned that long-standing Tube and rail staff, many of them young workers, were recruited in good faith with the understanding that visa sponsorship would be available when their current leave expired.
The government’s sudden decision to strip whole categories of roles from the scheme has left workers facing dismissal and having to leave the UK.
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “We welcome the Mayor’s support and his call for the government to pause these unnecessary visa changes.
"Transport workers who were hired under clear visa arrangements are facing needless uncertainty which should have been avoided.
"These RMT members are people doing essential front-line jobs and helping to keep London moving every day.
"The government needs to halt these changes, protect those already in post, and work with the transport sector on a solution that supports staff and services alike.”
END
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Tagged with: RMT, Eddie Dempsey, Tube, London Underground, Skilled Worker Visa, Mayor of London
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