Tube Strike Is On, As Unions Battle Over Night Tube Working

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 103 months ago
Tube Strike Is On, As Unions Battle Over Night Tube Working

Yes, there's another tube strike starting from 6.30pm on Wednesday, which will knock out the whole network from Wednesday evening and all day Thursday. If we were betting people, we'd have put a fiver on this one being cancelled; that's usually how these things pan out, after all. A big, disruptive strike focuses everyone's minds and prompts various concessions on either side while sitting grimly round the table at ACAS. But not this time. So what's going on?

It's still primarily about the night tube, and how London Underground (LU) is planning to run it. The night tube is slated to start on 12 September, with five lines running 24 hours on Fridays and Saturdays. Drivers are concerned at the amount of night shifts they'll have to work (though LU has recently said it'll allow drivers to refuse to work nights — which rather backs union ASLEF's assertion before the previous strike that night shifts were being introduced in an unfair way that didn't allow for work/life balance). The dispute has also got increasingly nasty, with some drivers sent home last week for refusing to take out trains they say haven't had full safety checks.

Three other unions — the RMT, TSSA and Unite — are also striking. The RMT has called LU's latest offer a "re-hash of previous plans" which they've already rejected, while ASLEF wants guarantees about the number of weekend rest days drivers will have. All unions are calling on LU to delay the start of the night tube so working patterns can be properly agreed with staff, something which LU appears unwilling to do. So: strike.

Which services will be affected?

All tube services will start winding down from 6.30pm on Wednesday 5 August and the entire network will be closed by 9.30pm at the latest. No services will run on Thursday, either.

The DLR, Overground, TfL Rail and tram services will run as normal (though beware of any stations that have interchanges with tube services as they'll be busy, and you'll have to get to the DLR via Monument, not Bank). Extra bus and river services will be running. And so will be cable car, should that be essential to your journey.

Last Updated 06 August 2015