For the latest live information on line and station closures and other disruption due to the tube strike, follow our live blog.
A tube strike affecting all London Underground lines will go ahead this week, with TfL warning of "major disruption".
The RMT Union has announced that its 10,000 members will take strike action on Tuesday 1 March and Thursday 3 March, not clocking in for any shift which begins between 00.00 and 23.59 on these days.
RMT members work across all London Underground lines, meaning all tubes lines are likely to be affected by the strike. Members of the ASLEF and TSSA unions are not expected to strike, meaning that some London Underground staff will still be working.
TfL has warned of "severe disruption across all Tube lines, with stations closed and little or no service across the network". There will be a knock-on effect on other transport, such as buses, which will be much busier as a result. There's also likely to be a knock-on effect to services on Wednesday 2 and Friday 4 March, although no strike action is planned for these days.
Why are tube workers striking?
According to RMT, the strike is happening because of London Underground's "continuing refusal to give assurances on jobs, pensions and working conditions in the midst of an on-going financial crisis driven by central Government."
RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said:
Our members will be taking strike action next week because a financial crisis at LUL has been deliberately engineered by the government to drive a cuts' agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten their working conditions and pensions.
However, TfL has said that no proposals have been tabled on pensions or conditions, and no job losses planned. Andy Lord, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, said:
It is extremely disappointing that the RMT is planning to go ahead with this action. We haven’t proposed any changes to pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals we have set out. I hope the RMT will get around the table with us, continue talks and call off this disruptive action, which will cause huge frustration for our customers and further financial damage to TfL and London’s economy when we should be working together to rebuild following the pandemic.
It comes at a time when TfL's finances are under extreme pressure, with attempts to agree a financial support package from central government still ongoing. As part of negotiations, TfL must find ways to speed up its savings programme, and has been engaging with staff and unions on how to achieve this.
Both TfL and the RMT have said they are available for further talks, which may result in the strike action being called off.
Meanwhile, night tube strikes are still taking place every Friday and Saturday night. Again, it's only RMT members who are striking, meaning the night tube is still able to operate, but with a reduced service.
For the latest live information on line and station closures and other disruption due to the tube strike, follow our live blog.
