Update: 24 August 2015, 5pm. The tube strikes have been called off by all three unions following talks.
As things currently stand, much of the rest of this week is going to be disrupted by tube strikes: two — yes, two — 24 hour walkouts are planned by the RMT, TSSA and Unite unions. However, the drivers' union Aslef isn't joining in this particular set of strikes, so it's unlikely we'll be looking at the kind of all-network shutdown we've seen recently.
The first 24 hour strike is planned from 6.30pm on Tuesday 25 August, which will disrupt services that evening and all day Wednesday. The next 24 hour strike is planned to start from 6.30pm on Thursday 27 August, with a similar evening/next day effect.
This latest clash between the unions and London Underground is again about the Night Tube — 24 hour running on some lines at weekends, which is meant to begin 12 September — and changes to staff rosters in the wake of ticket office closures. An update on talks from the TSSA last week says that some progress had been made, and we find these sections interesting:
"It has been a long and painfully slow process getting LU’s senior management team to actively listen to the concerns of our members, but the prospect of a further 48 hour strike next week is keeping the pressure firmly on them... To lift strike action at this stage of the game would only bring to a halt the progress made so far."
We're running a sweepstake in the Londonist office that reckons at least one of these strikes will be called off. Two in a week? It's unprecedented. We know it's probably because the Night Tube start date is fast approaching, but the phrasing from both the TSSA and RMT is clear that strikes will be lifted if there's movement. And with rumours swirling for a few weeks that LU is considering delaying the Night Tube, we're betting on a last minute cancellation of one or both.
We're obviously prepared to eat crow if we're wrong.
Anyway: as things stand, the Overground, DLR, TfL Rail, trams, trains, river services, bus networks — and the cable car — are unaffected. There'll be more buses and boats running, and it's probable that some tube services will run on lines staffed by Aslef drivers (if previous strikes are anything to go by, this means the Northern line will be virtually untouched) and where LU can find office staff willing to open certain stations. Keep an eye on Transport for London's strike page for the latest information.
