Tube strike begins as RMT stages five-day walkout over pay

Highlights:

• First London Underground strike since March 2023 begins
• RMT members stage five-day walkout after pay talks collapse
• Union demands 32-hour week; TfL offers 3.4 per cent rise
• Elizabeth line and Overground to run but face heavy demand

THE FIRST London Underground strike since March 2023 has begun, with a five-day walkout over pay and conditions.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are staging rolling strikes after nine months of negotiations failed.

The union has demanded a 32-hour week, while Transport for London (TfL) has offered a 3.4 per cent pay rise.

TfL said the offer was “fair” but added that a reduction from the contractual 35-hour week “is neither practical nor affordable,” BBC reported.

The strike runs from midnight on Sunday 7 September until 11.59pm on Thursday 11 September. London Underground services will not resume before 8am on Friday 12 September.

Nick Dent, director of customer operations at London Underground, said it was not too late to call off the strikes before disruption.

The Elizabeth line and London Overground will run as normal but are expected to be much busier. Buses and roads are also likely to see heavier demand.

A separate dispute will shut the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) on Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 September.

Service plans include: limited Tube operations ending early on Sunday 7 September; little or no service on the Underground from Monday to Thursday; and full resumption by late morning on Friday 12 September. The Elizabeth line will not stop at Liverpool Street, Farringdon and Tottenham Court Road stations at certain times on 8–11 September, Sky News reported.

The last full Tube strike took place in March 2023.