Londoners are bracing themselves for another round of Tube strikes this week, with many still reeling from last month’s disruption.
The strike comes after an ongoing dispute between the RMT union and London Underground bosses over Tube drivers’ condensed working hours.
Talks between the two groups have failed again, meaning strikes are set to commence this week.
The good news is that not all routes are part of the strikes, so the knock-on effects hopefully won’t be quite as bad.
First planned strike will run from 12 pm on Tuesday, May 19, until midday, Wednesday, May 20.
The second walkout will be from midday, Thursday, May 21, until midday Friday, May 22.
The entire Circle and Piccadilly Lines will be suspended, along with the Central Line between White City and Liverpool Street.
Services are expected on all other lines, but they will be less frequent and very busy.
However, journeys will be disrupted, and the service levels will vary, it warned.
Luckily, users of the Elizabeth Line, DLR and London Overground – along with trams – won’t see disruption. But the services will be very busy.
The strike, which only includes Tube drivers who are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), comes down to a disagreement over working hours.
TfL has proposed to condense the drivers’ five-day working week into four days, meaning they would do longer days, which RMT opposes, saying it would have direct consequences for drivers’ welfare, Metro‘s transport correspondent, Noora Mykkanen, reported.
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Speaking to Metro, Jared Wood, RMT’s London lead, claimed that if the changes came in, a driver could, in theory, start work at 3.45am, drive the train for over five hours without a break, then have a half an hour break and drive again for up to a maximum of 9.5 hours.
TfL said that it would never do anything to compromise safety, and that the proposed changes would bring it in line with the shift patterns of national rail operators.
Claire Mann, TfL’s chief operating officer, said: ‘It is disappointing that the RMT is planning this strike action despite our best efforts to resolve this dispute.
‘We have been clear that our proposals for a four-day week are designed to improve work-life balance and are entirely voluntary. Any Tube driver who doesn’t wish to opt in to the new, four-day working pattern and associated changes to working arrangements can remain on a five-day working pattern.
‘We have also said many times in discussions that we believe the majority of the issues that have been raised would be resolved with more detailed work.
‘A significant number of drivers have indicated that they want us to progress plans for the pilot of this new working pattern on the Bakerloo line, and it would deliver benefits both for our colleagues and our customers. We urge the RMT to work with us so we can resolve this dispute. In the meantime, we are asking customers to check before they travel and allow plenty of extra time for their journeys.’
TfL said that the four-day working week proposal has already been accepted by Aslef, the other Tube drivers’ union.