London Tube drivers are set to go on strike from Friday, making travel difficult for millions of commuters and Christmas shoppers.
Members of the RMT union are set to begin a series of 24-hour walkouts tomorrow over a change in the staff rota to restart Night Tube after talks broke down between TfL and union owners.
The Victoria, Central, Northern, Piccadilly and Jubilee lines will be brought to a standstill on Friday, causing further disruption for the Bakerloo, Circle, District, Hammersmith and City and Metropolitan lines.
There will be action on the Central and Victoria lines every Saturday and Sunday from 8.30 pm to 4.30 pm between this weekend and December 18 – the last Saturday before Christmas.
TfL says these lines are likely to be severely disrupted every weekend from 7 pm onwards, which comes as a big blow to those moving around in December.
A TfL source told the London Evening Standard this morning that ‘not a significant amount has developed’ since the industrial action was announced, but that TfL is ‘open to talks’ with RMT.
Passengers leave a busy Underground train still wearing their facemasks in London
Underground drivers are demonstrating regarding staff rota To restart the Night Tube, which is due to resume services on the Victoria and Central lines late Saturday night and Sunday morning.
TfL insisted that all other Tube unions agreed to changes to the rota in May, which came after integrating 200 Night Tube workers into TfL’s ‘Day Tube’ workforce, and calling the strike action ‘unnecessary’. said.
But RMT general secretary Mick Lynch accused the tube owners of ‘refusing to consider serious complaints at the center of the controversy’, but added that the union ‘remains open to dialogue’.
The union says the changes have resulted in “unacceptable and unbearable demands” on its members.
Similar attacks were planned during the summer on the same issue, which were called off after ‘last-ditch’ talks with the TfL.
Mayor Sadiq Khan and TfL are ‘convinced’ to be able to resume night services, but said they may be able to run fewer tube trains than expected.
TfL could face further disruption over Christmas as the ASLEF union threatened its members to strike over changes to TfL’s pension plans.
TfL is required to review its pension plans as a condition of the funding deal agreed with the government.
ASLEF’s Tube organizer Finn Brennan said if the changes were forced through there would be ‘hard work and sustained industrial action at the London Underground’, although no date has been confirmed.
Sir Brendan Barber, former Secretary General of TUC and current head of ACAS, has been appointed to lead a ‘truly independent’ review of TfL’s pensions.
TfL commissioner Andy Byford said the review has ‘no predetermined outcome’ and added that ‘we will report back in due course’.
In a statement today, Mr Lynch said: ‘This strike is about the breaking of the popular and family-friendly agreements that helped make the original Night Tube so successful.
Instead, the company wants to cut costs and bring all the drivers into one pool, where they can be kicked at any time at the behest of the management.
‘We have made every effort to resolve this dispute with ACAS and in direct dialogue, but it is clear that LU bosses operate completely from the bottom line and have no interest in the well being of their staff or the service of passengers .
‘This strike action, and its dire consequences until Christmas, were avoidable if Tube management had not put in place dedicated Night Tube employees and fully workable arrangements to cut workforce and costs.
‘We warned months ago that reducing two hundred night tube train driver positions would create a staffing nightmare and LU would have to start facing that reality and soon.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan meeting members of the Battersea Power Station Community Choir, at the newly opened Battersea Power Station London Underground station, south London
‘The Sangh is available for further talks even at this late stage.’
Nick Dent, director of London Underground Customer Operations, said: ‘RMT’s planned strike action is unnecessary and will threaten London’s recovery from the pandemic without job losses and greater flexibility and job certainty for drivers.
‘While every other union has agreed to these changes and our employees have been taking advantage of the changes since August, we stand ready to work with RMT and review the changes once Night Tube services return.
‘This review can only be successful if the RMT agrees to meet with us to negotiate and roll back its proposed course of action so that we can all see how these changes will work in practice.
‘If RMT refuses to engage with us and takes unnecessary action, which is the time to create maximum disruption for our customers to enjoy London during the festive season, Londoners are advised to take the planned Check before you travel on strike action days. ,
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