London Underground tube strike causes chaos for commuters
Unions take part in a 24-hour walkout today
Last updated 21st Jun 2022
Londoners are being warned about travel disruption on the London Underground today, due to continued industrial strike action.
Unions including RMT and Unite are taking part in a Tube strike, a 24-hour walkout.
It comes after talks failed to resolve a row over pay, jobs and conditions.
This is ahead of further strike action that is expected to cause disruption across the countries Rail Networks this week (21, 23, 25 June) due to pay, working conditions and redundancies.
When is the 24-hour tube strike?
The 24-hour walkout will take place today, Tuesday 21 June, beginning when the tube stations open at 5am.
Services are expected to start again on Wednesday 22 June at 8am.
It’s expected to cause major disruption across the network, Transport for London have encouraged commuters not to travel on the tube, unless necessary.
Why are the strikes taking place?
Workers on the Tube are taking industrial action in a dispute over jobs and pensions.
It coincides with national action by unions including the RMT and Unite after talks failed to resolve a row over pay, jobs and conditions.
TfL said, “If customers cannot avoid travelling they should expect severe disruption across the transport network, plan ahead and leave more time for journeys.
They should complete journeys by 18:00, with Elizabeth line customers travelling between Paddington and Reading, and Shenfield and Liverpool Street advised to complete their journeys by 16:00.
Customers are encouraged to avoid making journeys on 22 June until mid-morning.”
An enhanced bus service will run during the strike period but will be very busy, with queues expected, and customers are encouraged to walk and cycle if they can.
Where will be affected in London?
Train operators have released plans for how their services will be altered during this week's rail strikes.
Rail workers are walking out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, but there will also be disruption on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
Alongside London Underground service disruption, the network rail strikes are also set to cause disruption, there will be altered timetables with less trains or no trains at all, running with limited service.
Rail companies coming into London that will be affected include: Avanti West Coast, Thameslink, c2c, Caledonian Sleeper, Gatwick Express, Great Western Railway, Grand Central, Greater Anglia, Heathrow Express, London North Eastern, South Western, North Western, South Eastern, and Southern.
‘Disruption on the London Underground’
Andy Lord, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “I want to apologise to our customers for the impact these strikes will have on their journeys.
“The strike on the London Underground has been timed by the RMT and Unite unions to cause maximum disruption to our millions of customers by coinciding with strike action on national rail services.
"This strike is particularly frustrating as it comes so soon after industrial action earlier this month, no changes have been proposed to pensions and nobody has or will lose their job as a result of the proposals we have set out.
“We're urging the RMT and Unite to call off this strike – my message to them is that it’s not too late to work with us to find a resolution and avoid the huge disruption this action will cause."
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said it had held discussions in the past few weeks at senior levels with Network Rail, train operators and London Underground.
What have RMT Union said?
General secretary Mick Lynch said: "Despite the best efforts of our negotiators no viable settlements to the disputes have been created."
Mr Lynch said: "It has to be restated that the source of these disputes is the decision by the Tory Government to cut £4bn of funding from our transport systems - £2bn from national rail and £2bn from Transport for London.
"As a result of this transport austerity imposed by the Government, the employing companies have taken decisions to savage the Railway Pension Scheme and the Transport for London scheme, cutting benefits, making staff work longer, and poorer in retirement, while paying increased contributions."
Mr Lynch said thousands of jobs were being cut across the rail networks and workers were facing below-inflation pay rises.
"In the face of this massive attack on our people the RMT cannot be passive.
"We want a transport system that operates for the benefit of the people, for the needs of society and our environment - not for private profit.
"We call on the entire labour movement and the working people to rally to the support of the RMT and our members in this struggle."
‘Hugely disappointing industrial action’
A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: "No one wins in the event of a strike.
"The action next week will affect the millions of people who use the train each day, including key workers, students with exams, those who cannot work from home, holidaymakers and people attending important business and leisure events.
"Working with Network Rail, our plan is to keep as many services running as possible, but significant disruption will be inevitable and some parts of the network will not have a service, so passengers should plan their journeys carefully and check their train times."
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Strikes should always be the last resort, not the first, so it is hugely disappointing and premature that the RMT is going ahead with industrial action.
"The Government committed £16 billion - to keep our railways running throughout the pandemic while ensuring not a single worker lost their job.
"The railway is still on life support, with passenger numbers 25% down and anything that drives away even more of them risks killing services and jobs.
"Train travel for millions more people is now a choice, not a necessity. Strikes stop our customers choosing rail, and they might never return.
‘Urging RMT to reconsider’
"We urge the RMT to reconsider so we can find a solution that delivers for workers, passengers and taxpayers alike."
Tim Shoveller, Network Rail's chief negotiator, said: "I'm surprised that the RMT union are dismissing talks before we've even finished, with more planned for tomorrow (Sunday).
"I'm serious about trying to find a solution and work out a compromise that gives our people a decent pay rise, but it has to be affordable for taxpayers and fare payers.
"Our offers have so far been rejected, with union demands far from being affordable. We will continue to talk and to try and find a way through and avert this needless and damaging strike."