London Tube strikes: will TfL staff be striking this weekend, why are there strikes, when does it end

Commuters faced another day of travel misery on Friday because of the impact of the strike by thousands of workers which has crippled Tube services in London, with more industrial action planned over the weekend.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) staged two 24-hour strikes on Tuesday and Thursday in a deadlocked dispute over jobs, pensions and conditions.

Services were affected on Friday morning because of a similar knock-on impact which disrupted the Underground on Wednesday morning.

Will there be more strikes?

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are taking action. The dispute centres around Transport for London (TfL) plans to cut up to 600 station posts, as well as concerns over pensions and conditions.

The union’s executive will meet to decide its next move in the bitter row, with a spokesman saying further stoppages cannot be ruled out.

More strikes will be held by RMT members on the Night Tube on Friday and Saturday evenings in a separate dispute over new rosters.

Weekend walkouts are planned until June, hitting services on the Night Tube Central and Victoria lines.

Andy Lord, TfL’s chief operating officer, apologised for the disruption this week, saying he understand why people were frustrated by the strike action.

“We haven’t proposed any changes to pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has lost or will lose their jobs because of the proposals we have set out, so this action is completely unnecessary.

“We know our customers deserve better than this continued disruption and that is why we’re urging the RMT to talk to us so we can find a resolution to this dispute which has already damaged London’s recovery from the pandemic.”

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch praised the support of his members for the strikes, saying the union was determined to fight the threat of hundreds of job losses and changes to pensions.

What has been the impact of the strikes?

Dee Corsi, chief operating officer at the New West End Company said: “Once again the recovery of the West End has suffered a setback this week following the Tube strikes.

“Footfall in the district was down compared to the previous week on both Tuesday and Thursday, demonstrating the direct impact the disruptions have had on businesses and Londoners alike.

“We truly hope that this is the last of the strikes, and encourage RMT to call off any further action to show their support for thousands of people that work in the West End and are trying to return to normality and recover from the effects of the pandemic.”

What has been said about the strikes?

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan urged RMT to have talks with TfL rather than striking, saying: “We saw on Tuesday and Thursday Londoners not being able to go to hospital appointments, Londoners not being able to go to college.

“Many Londoners who can’t work from home having two, three, four-hour journeys to get to their place of work.

“What the RMT should be doing is getting around the table with TfL, who are willing to talk.”

The London mayor insisted TfL “would have gone bankrupt” if it had not accepted the Government’s funding package.

“That doesn’t benefit the RMT or its members,” Mr Khan said.

“That’s why I say to the RMT ‘get back round the table, talking is far better than striking’.”

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