London Underground strikes planned by the train drivers’ union Aslef will still go ahead, however, the RMT union announced on Friday afternoon their strike action will be suspended.
After a period of strike-free travel on the London Underground, two transport unions announced a series of walkouts in November.
Yet after negotiations with London Underground, RMT announced it would no longer be going ahead with the strikes that were planned to start on Friday evening.
However, for those who commute within London, and others who frequently use Transport for London’s (TfL) tube system, planning your journeys ahead of time may be essential as the strikes are still predicted to impact much of the capital’s transport network.
Aslef and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) both announced strikes last month over a pay dispute and subsequent “inadequate” pay offers during negotiations.
While a series of strikes on the underground were announced and then cancelled this year, the last strike to affect the entire tube network was in March 2023 over pensions and working conditions, grinding London transport to a halt as traffic jams spread across the city and buses, trams, the Overground, DLR and the Elizabeth line became increasingly busier.
This time around, TfL said the action taken by the unions was “disappointing” but after RMT decided to cancel their strikes, they are hoping Aslef will also call off their planned industrial action.
Here’s everything we know about the strikes and what they will mean for TfL passengers.
Why are there strikes?
Both train unions said their members were striking due to a dispute over pay, as well as other issues such as long hours and other workers’ reliefs such as paid meals.
RMT said they were prompted to take strike action after rejecting a pay deal, which they deemed as “wholly inadequate” that leaves a large number of staff excluded from collective bargaining, which is negotiations between employees and employers.
After “repeatedly urging” London Underground to offer a new deal to cover collective bargaining, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said they have been left with no choice but to take strike action, but remained open to further…
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