Next month, London’s underground will continue for a week of chaos as thousands of employees engage in new controversy over salaries and working conditions.
RMT Union confirmed that a series of rolling strikes will begin on September 5, involving signaling engineers, engineers and service control personnel across multiple pipeline lines. Drivers are not included in the action, but disruptions to services are expected to be widely expanded.
RMT Secretary General Eddie Dempsey said members were surprised by years of fatigue, non-social transformation patterns and their salary they thought were insufficient. “Our members are doing a great job to keep our capital going,” he said. “They are not after the king’s ransom, but fatigue and extreme liner rotations are serious issues that affect their health and well-being – all of which are not addressed by London’s underground management.”
The union rejected a 3.4% increase in wage increases offered by London Underground, believing it has no inflation and neglected widespread concerns about working hours. RMT voted for more than 10,000 members, and about 6,000 voted for the strike.
The City Hall urges both sides to avoid damage. A spokesman for Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “No one wants to see strikes or damage from Londoners. The mayor urges RMT and TFL to solve this problem around the table.”
TFL, which employs about 28,000 employees, insists that its offer is fair and affordable. “We are committed to ensuring that colleagues are treated fairly and provide a 3.4% salary, and we have made progress with concerns about fatigue and rosters. However, the reduction in a 35-hour contract work week reduction is neither practical nor affordable,” a spokesperson said.
The timing of a strike will lead to the greatest damage. They matched the finale of Coldplay’s sold-out Wembley Stadium, the BBC ball at Royal Albert Hall, the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium performance at Postal Malone and the full fixed list of Premier League and Women’s Premier League football.
Business groups and opposition politicians warned of the economic consequences. “London will be in chaos by these strikes, putting jobs and our economy at risk. TFL must address this before it happens.”
As the UK has lost more than 280,000 working days to strike in the first half of the year, the announcement puts further pressure on the Labor government, which promises to bring stability to labor-management relations after inflation undermines the public sector’s compensation agreement.
