London faces commuter disruption during tube strike

Again?! Why is this happening?

“We have made every effort to reach agreement with the unions and avoid this unnecessary strike action”, Steve Griffiths, London Underground’s chief operating officer, said Wednesday.

Unions are angry over plans to introduce a new night service from September and weeks of talks with transport bosses have failed to clinch a deal over pay and conditions. Research from Volterra found that a Night Tube will create 265 new, permanent jobs through the direct operation of the service, and almost 2,000 in total when the knock-on effects in the economy are included. What the unions really mean is they are willing to waste £300m of Londoners’ money over a petty dispute. But this isn’t the full story.

All stations are expected to close, with the four main Tube workers’ unions the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF), the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT), Unite and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) supporting the industrial action.

Travel chaos was feared across the British capital as commuters turned to cars, boats, bicycles and packed buses with the 24-hour walkout by rail unions meaning no trains were running on the network which handles some four million journeys a day.

So, fine, if you think the future of human society is a commune where everyone shares everything, or support a cap in executive pay, then it’s perfectly respectable to say that Tube drivers are overpaid.

Could it still be called off?

“RMT is preparing for that ballot now and the union remains available for talks”.

Right. How do I get around London, then?

Although it will likely cause widespread travel disruptions, and inconvenience millions, the London Tube strike is expected to proceed as planned. From September, trains will run 24 hours on Friday and Saturday on five of London’s 11 Underground lines.

These will be exceptionally busy, though. “Why are people who can bring London to a halt so well-paid?” is one. (And be warned, boats are not part of your Oyster travelcard).

“I am not going to authorise any more money”. The only annoying thing is that according the BBC, rain is forecast today from about 3pm and lasting all evening – so take an umbrella. Indeed, it will save some workers up to an hour of time getting home. If this happened in the north the media wouldn’t mention it…

It followed on from the London Assembly Conservatives demand to create a group of retired tube staff who could work once a year on strike days.