Industrial relations on London Underground have “totally collapsed”, a union leader warned on Tuesday as a strike by Tube workers caused fresh travel chaos for commuters, tourists and other passengers.
Thousands of members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are taking industrial action all week in a dispute over pay and hours.
A strike was also held by RMT members on Docklands Light Railway (DLR) on Tuesday in a separate dispute.
RMT general secretary Eddie Dempsey called on London’s Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan to intervene in the disputes.
“There has been a total collapse of industrial relations on London Underground,” he said.
Mr Dempsey said that as well as strikes on the Tube and DLR, disputes were looming over the pay and conditions of cleaners as well as the future of ticket offices on the Elizabeth Line.
Transport for London says there are no plans to close ticket offices despite claims by the RMT that it has uncovered plans to shut them.
Mr Dempsey said: “The mayor has to intervene. He keeps telling us to return to the negotiating table – well, if he invites us to a meeting, we will attend.
“Our members are not asking for a king’s ransom. We want progress towards recognition about the impact of shift work.
“We are not asking for an immediate drop from a 35-hour week to 32. We have been discussing this since 2018 and we are open to discussions.”
The strike paralysed Tube services for a second day on Tuesday, with commuters again facing huge problems travelling to and from the capital.
Downing Street has called on the RMT and Transport for London (TfL) to get back to the negotiating table to end the strike.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “I think Londoners will rightly be fed up with the disruption from Tube strikes ….. as parents try and drop their kids off at school, get to hospital appointments, get to work.
“We want to see RMT and TfL get back around the table when it comes to these strikes, work together in good faith to resolve this situation in the interests of passengers.”
