Tube strike – latest: Buses and unaffected lines ‘busier than usual’, TfL warns
Most Underground stations in central London shut until Tuesday morning
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Your support makes all the difference.A major Tube strike has seen the closure of much of the London Underground network today.
Four Tube lines are completely closed during the 24-hour walkout by Transport for London (TfL) staff, while six are operating a “special service”, with trains only operating on less central stretches.
London Overground, DLR, London Tram, London bus and National Rail services are all in operation but are expected to be “busier than usual”, TfL has warned, with the Elizabeth line potentially seeing closures at stations also served by the Underground.
TfL is advising people to “avoid travelling where possible”, and to keep essential journeys to after 8am and before 6pm.
The RMT Union says the action is in response to proposals that would see 600 jobs axed and current working agreements torn up, with general secretary Mick Lynch demanding “a direct face-to-face meeting with mayor Sadiq Khan to sort this mess out”.
“There’s no point in our union continuing to sit opposite management representatives who have neither the inclination nor the authority to negotiate a settlement, when the power lies with the mayor,” he said.
Why are TfL workers striking?
Here is an infographic shared by RMT’s Bakerloo branch explaining why TfL workers are striking.
Staff are striking to “stop job cuts, to defend our conditions, and protect our pensions”, RMT says, attacking TfL bosses for having “complied with the Tories’ demands” over conditions imposed on short-term financial bailouts during the pandemic, which referenced those three areas.
Fire Brigades Union expresses solidarity with TfL workers
The Fire Brigades Union has expressed solidarity with those taking part in today’s Tube strikes.
“Firefighters know first-hand that cutting jobs doesn't improve services,” the union tweeted.
“RMT Union aren't just fighting for their workers' livelihoods, but also to defend the public's safety and accessibility on London Underground.”
Labour MPs Andy McDonald and Paula Barker are also among those to have expressed solidarity with TfL workers taking part in today’s action.
What other strikes could we see in the coming weeks?
Today’s strike is far from the only such action looming on the horizon – after a ballot last month of more than 40,000 RMT members working for Network Rail and 14 out of 15 of the train operators returned a result “overwhelmingly in favour of strike action”.
The union called it “the biggest endorsement for industrial action by railway workers since privatisation”, with strikes potentially starting place later this month.
The weekend before last, the RMT’s Mick Lynch said he “can’t see a way” out of the strikes at the moment unless there is a “breakthrough”, warning that they could last a “very, very long time”.
Here he is on LBC discussing the need for the strike:
Union boss congratulates members for strike action
RMT Union activists are reporting huge attendances at picket lines despite heavy rain across the capital, the union said in a statement earlier.
The union’s general secretary Mick Lynch congratuled its members for taking strike action, saying: “The effectiveness and industrial power of these members cannot be underestimated.
“TfL, London Underground Limited and the mayor of London have had ample opportunity to negotiate with the union properly to avert this strike action today.
“Their intransigence and stubbornness have left RMT members no choice but to act decisively.
“We will not rest until we have a just settlement to this dispute and we urge the mayor to stand up to the Tory government who are cutting funding to TfL rather than try to pick a fight with Tube workers.”
London Assembly member warns of ‘decline of transport system’ without ‘fair funding’ for TfL
Labour's transport lead on the London Assembly, Elly Baker, has warned that the “tough” day today for London commuters and TfL workers “will be nothing compared to the decline of our vital transport system” without “fair funding” from the government.
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