London’s Tube strike is causing chaos as commuters trying to get to work are facing severe disruption as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) walked out on Sunday evening.
Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, Bakerloo, Central, district and Waterloo & City lines have all been suspended on Monday.
Dockland Light Railway is suspended in parts and Transport for London said on Monday that on all other lines there is a good service.
The Tube disruption is expected to last until Friday morning.
Eddie Dempsey who heads up the RMT is demanding that Tube workers receive a 75% discount for rail journey across the UK and he is also demanding that workers work four days a week up to a maximum of 32 hours a week.
This would cost a staggering £200 million and extra staff would have to be hired leaving Nick Dent of London Underground said this is “simply unaffordable.”
Shadow Housing Secretary James Cleverly, has warned that the Tube strike will cost the British economy some £230 million amid “Starmer’s weakness.”
Cleverly said, “Starmer’s weakness nationally and Khan’s weakness in London are why these tube strikes are happening. They caved in to other union pay demands and in doing so encouraged these.
The RMT spokesman said, “Our strike is about TFL’s refusal to even discuss a small reduction in the working week, despite us making clear in negotiations that we want to see moves towards a four-day, 32-hour week to tackle fatigue and protect staff health.
“Our claim also includes industry-standard ‘Priv’ travel concessions that lots of other railway workers already receive.
These conditions help retain skilled staff and reduce the hidden costs of turnover, overtime and fatigue-related absence.
“TFL’s claims of hundreds of millions in extra costs are back-of-a-fag-packet maths.
“The company posted a £166million surplus last year, operates on a £10billion budget and has already saved around £100m on pension liabilities.
“Meanwhile, there are 2,000 fewer Underground staff than in 2018, leaving those who remain stretched to breaking point.
“We remain open to talks and call on the Mayor of London to intervene.”
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