Tube drivers are set to strike again in May and June after this week’s walkout brought no resolution to their dispute with Transport for London (TfL). There have been two 24-hour strikes this week – the first starting at midday on Tuesday, April 21 and the second at midday on Thursday, April 23 – particularly hitting the hospitality sector, with pubs and restaurants reporting fewer customers.
Commuters crammed into Elizabeth line, DLR, Overground and National Rail services which were still running as well as jumping on e-bikes, or they simply decided to work from home. Despite the disruption caused, passengers found it much easier to travel compared to the previous strike last September.
The Northern and Victoria lines, the busiest on the Tube network, were mostly able to run with just minor delays. This is due to the current dispute over working hours only including Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) train drivers which meant station staff and service controllers worked as normal.
Services ended early on most Tube lines during the strikes(Image: Denise Baker/Getty Images)
Earlier this week the RMT told MyLondon that neither side had sat down at the negotiating table. The union is still pushing for a 32-hour week spread across four days for drivers, while TfL is sticking to its gun and insisting on a 35-hour week across four days.
Under TfL’s terms drivers would still be allowed to work a 36-hour week across five days if they wanted to – the extra hour accounting for an extra paid lunch break on the fifth day.
When will Tube strikes happen in May and June?
RMT Tube drivers are set to walkout again in May and June impacting what services will be able to run (Image: Xavier Duvot / Hans Lucas / AFP via Getty Images)
Four more 24-hour strikes are set to happen in May and June unless both sides come to an agreement. They would lead to a similar level of disruption caused by strikes this week.
Here are the dates affected:
Tuesday, May 19: Strike starts at midday for 24 hoursWednesday, May 20: Strike ends at middayThursday, May 21: Strike starts at midday for 24 hoursFriday, May 22: Strike ends at middayTuesday, June 16: Strike starts at midday for 24 hoursWednesday, June 17: Strike ends at middayThursday, June 18: Strike starts at midday for 24 hoursFriday, June 19: Strike ends at midday
The Telegraph reported on Thursday (April 23) that 60 per cent of Tube drivers turned up for work this week, suggesting the strike did not have as much of an impact as the RMT hoped. Aslef union, which also represents some Tube drivers, was not involved in the walkout.
Thomas Turrell, the Conservatives’ City Hall transport spokesman, said: “[This is a] bitter disappointment to the union barons who sought to paralyse London”.
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