London Underground Tube strikes update: TfL and RMT talks to avert strike break down raising fears action will go ahead
Talks to avert next week’s Tube strike have ended without a breakthrough – raising fears travel chaos in London will ensue.
Negotiators from Transport for London and the RMT union got back round the table on Wednesday, following talks on Tuesday. But the discussions “went nowhere”, according to one informed source, as reported by the London Evening Standard.
The news outlet reports that TfL again refusing to give in to the RMT’s “unaffordable” demand for a 32-hour week. TfL has now written to all 16,500 Tube staff explaining that it would rather spend its pay budget on pay increases rather than shorter working hours - while making clear that the RMT’s demand would cost “tens of millions of pounds”.
TfL says it remains open to further talks but none are planned at present. Unless a breakthrough is achieved by Friday night, it may be impossible to prevent disruption next week – even if the strike is called off over the weekend.
About 10,000 RMT members are due to start a rolling walkout from early Sunday morning, with different workers taking action on different days. This will mean little or no service from about 6pm on Sunday until mid-morning on Friday, with a near total shutdown of the Underground expected between Monday and Thursday.
- On Sunday 7 September, there will be disruption across the Tube, with limited services running
- From Monday 8 to Thursday 11 September 2025, Tube services will be severely disrupted, with little to no service expected
- On Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 September 2025, there will also be no service on the DLR
Other TfL services, including the Elizabeth line, London Overground and trams, will be running normally but are likely to be extremely busy. At times, they may not be able to stop at stations shared with the Tube.