Commuters: another date for your diaries. Industrial action will take place on London Underground on 15 March, the day of the Budget.
This 24-hour strike is by tube drivers represented by the Aslef union. 99% of a 77% turnout voted in favour of the walkout. This is not about pay, but rather concerns about members' pension pots. Transport for London must look at ways to make savings from its pension plans, as a condition of the Government's multi-million pound financial bailout. Details of that review are expected next week. Needless to say, the union does not want to see pension cuts, and has taken pre-emptive action in announcing the strike.
As the BBC's Tom Edwards points out, the last time Aslef tube drivers went on strike, in 2015, it caused a complete shutdown of the underground network.
