London Underground strikes: Dates and lines affected
During this month of July, the United Kingdom is experiencing major strikes that will affect London in a special way. The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has announced a series of strikes involving more than 20,000 employees from 14 different railway companies. The protests stem from a long-running dispute between the rail companies and Transport for London (TFL), the local government body in charge of the British capital’s transport system. At the heart of the dispute are cuts to staffing levels, working conditions and pensions. RMT has reported that the cuts could lead to the loss of 600 jobs across the London Underground network.
Which days will there be striking action on the London Underground this July?
RMT has announced six days of strike action, which will mean a partial closure of the London Underground service. The strike will take place between Sunday 23 July and Friday 28 July. The main Tube lines affected are still unknown, as the RMT has not yet confirmed which groups of workers will strike.
As for the Overground and Elizabeth lines, it is believed that they should operate as normal, although these will of course be much busier due to the closure of the other lines.
What has the union and TFL said about the closure of London Underground lines?
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The week of strike action will close the London Underground and show how important the work of our members is. We are aware that the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has suffered a cut in TFL’s budget. However, he needs to align himself with our union”.
TFL operations director Glynn Barton said they were “disappointed” with the RMT for calling strikes over issues they claim to have discussed openly with them. “We are urging the union to reconsider and engage with us to discuss the issues and seek a solution,” he concluded.
