The RMT union has announced a batch of strikes on the London Underground in the new year, with a week of cascading disruptions across the tube network.
Rather than a one day strike by all staff, the RMT union is having different sections of the staff walk out on different days, which is likely to lead to a week of problems for commuters.
Disruption will start on the evening of Friday 5th January 2024, and last most of the week. Some of the strike days may not affect commuters too severely, if for example there aren’t any problems requiring maintenance staff on their strike days, or non-striking staff can cover the shifts.
However, the worst affected days are likely to be Monday 8th and Wednesday 10th January when most RMT members working for the London Underground will walk out.
- Friday 5th Jan from 6pm – one day strike by the Engineering Vehicles Operations and Maintenance teams, plus no overtime until the end of the following week.
- Sunday 7th & Monday 8th Jan – two day strike by Track Access Control, Power Control and London Underground Control Centre staff.
- Tuesday 9th Jan – all day strike by Service Controller and Service Operator staff.
- Thursday 11th Jan – second all day strike by Service Controller and Service Operator staff.
- And… everyone else will be on strike all day on Monday 8th and Wednesday 10th Jan.
The strike ballot was close though, as while 9,723 members were entitled to vote, with a 54% turnout, it only just passed the 50% turnout that is required for a ballot to be legal if the union management decides to instruct their members to take strike action.
Of those who voted, 4,827 were in favour of strike action, while 505 were opposed. While that counts as 90% in favour of strike action, had those opposed to strike action chosen to abstain, then the ballot would not have passed the 50% threshold for the strike action to be permitted.
So it was a close call.
I have some sympathy for doctors etc striking, but absolutely no sympathy for endless tube strikes. The majority of jobs in TFL require minimal skill or education, and yet pay handsomely compared to the vast majority of other private and public sector jobs. This is part of the reason London underground prices are some of the highest in the world.
The reason London Underground prices are some of the highest in the world likely has absolutely nothing to do with TfL salaries and more to do with the fact that unlike every other capital city in the world, TfL gets no direct public funding (any more).
And “the majority of jobs in TfL require minimal skill or education” is just such a ridiculous statement I don’t even know where to start.
What “endless” strikes?
Have strikes happened? Clearly yes. But they aren’t as often as you clearly seem to think they are.
As for “handsomely paid” you’ll find that’s also incorrect..
Minimum skill? Again nonsense. Even a station assistant needs to be aware of multiple systems and policies and procedures. They may not have degrees and what not but they are still highly skilled and trained.
If you think London Bus drivers are over paid then blame their private sector employers for that because they aren’t TFL employees.
Yes, very well paid for the skill level. A typical station assistant will have a maximum 4 weeks paid for training. It’s a notch above a supermarket worker. As for tube drivers, it’s about 6 months, and you do not need any academic qualifications. Yes, it’s a responsible job, but no more so than a lorry driver, bus driver, cabin crew etc – but pays more than twice the going rate of equivalent jobs. So it’s no wonder that ticket prices are so expensive. There’s also an abundance of staff and lack of efficiency, just have a glance around the ticket hall next time you’re on a journey.
“It’s a notch above a supermarket worker”
Good grief. Not sure who you’re trying to demean most. Station assistants or supermarker workers.
As for tube drivers they drive trains with 1,000 of people on them at speed. I don’t see any buses with that number of passengers.
Neither, I worked in a supermarket when I was 16, and it’s a job. But it doesn’t require skill or qualifications. Perhaps you have a fundamentally different way of thinking, where every job should pay the same, but I think you’re being disingenuous.
As for ‘drive’, on most lines it’s ‘open and close doors’ – there’s very little driving involved.
You have no sympathy with anyone on strike, so stop trying to claim empathy for one set of workers whilst showing disdain and ignorance for another as part of your pathetic divide and rule ideology.
If there are no maintenance teams, would it be fair to assume TfL would close the entire Underground as a precaution? Are the people responding to signal failures and broken trains classed as maintenance teams?
Bus drivers have the more demanding job, I’d say. There may be more passengers on a tube train but bus drivers have to steer the vehicle; tube drivers don’t. They just have a brake and an accelerator and much of the job is semi-automated anyway.
Plus they have to deal with the passengers!
Automate the whole system and put them out of work. As for calling for ever more featherbedding of this idle bunch at even greater public expense you clearly dont pay much tax. Time to make this bunch and their Worthy Brothers on the railnetwork unemployed through automation. If it was left to this bunch of avaricious luddites we would still be travelling by horse drawn carts
Typically ignorant remark which has no basis in reality. I’d suggest learning about the system and how it works before showing your Olympic level dimness.
Feel more sympathy for nhs doctors who we’re on strike than tube strikes dr pays 6 years of tution fees and working overtime and being paid less. Tube stirkes shouldn’t go on strike or else affect people’s wages as well.