London Tube strikes to go ahead next week

There will be “severe disruption across all Tube Lines” next Tuesday and Thursday

The RMT union has confirmed two 24-hour Tube strikes will go ahead next week. 

Around 10,000 London Underground (LUL) workers have been told to walk out on Tuesday, 1 March and Thursday, 3 March. 

Transport for London (TfL) has warned there will be “severe disruption across all Tube lines, with stations closed and little or no service across the network”.

The strike is also expected to impact services during the Wednesday and Friday morning peaks. 

The RMT union said talks broke down yesterday after transport bosses refused to give assurances on jobs, pensions and working conditions. 

TfL said it had not tabled any proposals on pensions or terms and conditions and “nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals TfL has set out”. 

RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, said: “Our members will be taking strike action next week because a financial crisis at LUL has been deliberately engineered by the Government to drive a cuts’ agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten their working conditions and pensions. The sheer scale of that threat was confirmed in talks yesterday.

“These are the very same transport staff praised as heroes for carrying London through COVID for nearly two years, often at serious personal risk, who now have no option but to strike to defend their livelihoods.

“The politicians need to wake up to the fact that transport staff will not pay the price for this cynically engineered crisis. In addition to the strike action RMT is coordinating a campaign of resistance with colleagues from other unions impacted by this threat.

“The union remains available for talks aimed at resolving the dispute.”

Andy Lord, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: “It is extremely disappointing that the RMT is planning to go ahead with this action.

“We haven’t proposed any changes to pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals we have set out.

“I hope the RMT will get around the table with us, continue talks and call off this disruptive action, which will cause huge frustration for our customers and further financial damage to TfL and London’s economy when we should be working together to rebuild following the pandemic.”

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