London Underground workers are preparing to stage seven days of strike action next month in a row over pay and working conditions.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) confirmed its members will walk out at different times starting from 5 September, after accusing management of refusing to take their concerns seriously.
Union leaders say the dispute centres on pay, fatigue, shift patterns, and calls for a shorter working week. They argue that the current system leaves many staff exhausted and struggling with their health.
In addition, RMT members on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) will also strike during the week beginning 7 September as part of a separate dispute over similar issues.
Eddie Dempsey, the RMT’s general secretary, defended the move, saying staff were simply asking for fair treatment:
"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.”
He added that the union is still open to talks and wants to see a revised offer from London Underground (LU) to avoid further disruption.
Transport for London (TfL), however, insists it has been engaging with the union. A spokesperson said:
A Transport for London 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% 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."
TfL urged the union to let members vote on the pay offer rather than proceed with strikes, warning that walkouts will only disrupt Londoners. Photo by tompagenet (Tom Page), Wikimedia commons.