Commuters in London face more travel misery after the RMT union announced a week of disruption on the Underground and Docklands Light Railway early next month.
From 6pm on Friday 5 September some union members at the Ruislip depot in west London will walk out for 24 hours.
Then, from Sunday 7 September, different groups of members will walk out across the Tube network each day, with the aim of bringing operations to a halt.
The RMT union said London Underground (LU) bosses have “refused to engage seriously with union demands on pay, fatigue management, extreme shift patterns and a reduction in the working week”.
Transport for London (TfL) warned “a reduction in the contractual 35-hour working week is neither practical nor affordable”.
RMT members “voted in overwhelming numbers to take strike action,” the union said.
The action would impact every Underground line, but not the Elizabeth line – the east-west route through the centre of the capital – nor the London Overground.
Eddie Dempsey, general secretary of the RMT, said: “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.
“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.
“Coupled with the fact there are outstanding issues around staff travel arrangements, an atmosphere of distrust has been created, where our members feel like no one is listening to them.”
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The order of walkouts is as follows:
- Sunday 7 September: Track Access Controllers, London Underground Control Centre, Power/Control and ERU (Emergency Response Unit) members.
- Monday 8 and Wednesday 10 September: Fleet, Engineering, Stations and Trains members.
- Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 September: Signallers, Service Control and ERU members.
In a separate dispute over pay and conditions, workers on the Docklands Light Railway will also walk out for the working week from 7 to 11 September.
Mr Dempsey said: "RMT will continue to engage LU management with a view to seeking a revised offer in order to reach a negotiated settlement.”
A spokesperson for TfL 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 per cent 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.”
The action will hit people attending events such as the Coldplay performances at Wembley Stadium on 7 and 8 September.
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