Members of the RMT union will take place in rolling strike action across the Tube network for seven days this September.
Beginning on Friday 5 September, staff working at different grades will take industrial action at different times. The first strike action, by Depot Operational Control Managers at Ruislip, falls between 6pm on Friday 5 September and 5.59pm on Sunday 7 September. That's followed by strike action by different divisions between midnight and 11.59pm on each day of Sunday 7, Monday 8, Tuesday 9, Wednesday 10 and Thursday 11 September.
The extent of disruption this action will cause, and which lines and stations will be affected, is not yet known. Keep an eye on the TfL website for updates.
According to the RMT, the strike action is being taken due to management's refusal "to engage seriously with union demands on pay, fatigue management, extreme shift patterns and a reduction in the working week, as well as failing to honour previous agreements made with staff".
RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said:
Our members are doing a fantastic job to keep our capital moving and work strenuous shift patterns to make sure Londoners get to their destinations around the clock.
They are not after a King's ransom, but fatigue and extreme shift rotations are serious issues impacting on our members health and wellbeing — all of which have not been adequately addressed for years by LU management.
A TfL spokesperson said:
We regularly meet with our trade unions to discuss any concerns that they may have, and we recently met with the RMT to discuss some specific points. We are committed to ensuring our colleagues are treated fairly and, as well as offering a 3.4 per cent pay increase in our ongoing pay discussions, we have made progress on a number of commitments we have made previously. We welcome further engagement with our unions about fatigue and rostering across London Underground, but a reduction in the contractual 35-hour working week is neither practical nor affordable.
Given the improvements we have recently put in place in response to concerns raised by our unions, we urge the RMT to put our fair, affordable pay offer to their members and to continue to engage with us rather than threaten strike action, which will only disrupt Londoners.
