Tube strikes: Londoners braced for RMT walkouts from next week
A series of six Tube strikes will start from next week, which have been described by Transport for London (TfL) as “completely unnecessary”.
In a fresh blow to London businesses, the entire London Underground network will be disrupted for two 24-hour chunks – from midday Tuesday to Wednesday – and then the same time period Thursday into Friday.
This is the latest in a series of walkouts over TfL’s proposals in March last year of a four-day working week – broadly in line with other UK rail operators.
This new scheme has so far only been piloted on the Bakerloo line.
TfL’s operations chief Claire Mann has called on the RMT to call off the strikes and has called on the union to “engage with us” to avoid disrupting Londoners’ lives.
“If this strike action goes ahead, customers should check before they travel as on some days during the strike, there will be significant disruption and the level of service we can provide will vary across lines.”
How does this compare to previous Tube strikes?
Only drivers affiliated with the RMT union are set to strike, so those represented by Aslef will still be operational.
This means that the strikes will not be quite as total as those which took the network offline in September last year, though half of all drivers will nonetheless be out of action.
While the RMT, which has around 12,000 members, is pushing for a 32-hour, four-day working week for its members – which has been refused by TfL.
Meanwhile, Aslef members have voted to accept the terms of a 35-hour week.
For context, Morning Wire reported in 2023 that the average length of a working day in the Square Mile is 38.7 hours, and that almost a third of City workers are doing a 49-hour week.
Tube strikes mean more disruption for London’s hospitality sector
Industrial action on the Underground has typically led to higher rates of working from home as Londoners opt to avoid unreliable Tube services and packed buses, with a brutal knock on effect for hospitality businesses.
Back during the last major strikes in September, London mayor Sadiq Khan was urged to step in to ease the financial burden on the struggling sector.
Meanwhile, simultaneous Stagecoach bus strikes mean that for some East London commuters, there will be a transport strike double whammy on Friday 24 April.