London braces for travel disruption from Underground strikes

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Passengers in London have been warned to expect major disruption this week, with a fresh wave of strike action expected to close most of the London Underground network.

Transport for London said customers should only try to use the Underground network if their journey was “essential” between Sunday evening and Friday morning, when members of the RMT union walk out in a dispute over pay. 

The strikes are the latest to hit the transport network in the UK, which has been dogged by repeated bouts of industrial action as unions push for pay rises at a time when operators’ incomes have been badly affected by falls in passengers numbers following the pandemic. 

TfL has offered staff a 5 per cent pay rise, which chief operating officer Glynn Barton said was “the most we can afford while ensuring that we can operate safely, reliably and sustainably”.

The union has called for higher pay rises and the end of what it called the “continual undermining of conditions” for staff.

“TfL has failed to avert this strike by not offering a deal that was acceptable to our members on London Underground. We do not take strike action lightly but we are determined to get a negotiated settlement,” the union said.

There will be “little or no service” on the tube, and TfL warned other public transport operating during the week, which includes the Elizabeth line, London Overground trains and London buses, would be much busier than usual and subject to last-minute changes, including not stopping at some stations shared with London Underground.

The RMT is holding a series of rolling strikes including engineering, maintenance, stations and train operators. The industrial action began on Friday, but will only be felt by passengers from Sunday as a critical mass of staff working on the day-to-day operations of the Underground walk out.

TfL has faced significant financial pressure since the pandemic, and last month warned that it was facing a funding shortfall after securing just half of the £500mn grant it had asked for from central government to keep the capital’s transport network running this year.

National rail passengers also face the prospect of further strikes this year, as train drivers union Aslef remains in dispute with train operators in its own long-running row over pay.

The union last year rejected an offer of an 8 per cent pay rise over two years, tied to sweeping modernisations.

There have been no formal negotiations since spring, but the two sides held informal talks at the end of last year, according to people briefed on the matter.

Some railway industry heads are hoping Aslef will accept a similar deal to one agreed with the RMT, which split a pay and reform offer into two separate parts.

RMT members in November backed a deal that gave them a 5 per cent pay rise with no conditions for the 2022-2023 financial year, with negotiations over modernisation pushed into the following year’s pay talks.