Tfl strikes are set to go ahead next week after the RMT said it was pressing ahead with two rounds of 24-hour walkouts and accused Transport for London of failing to engage in negotiations. The first stoppage is due to begin at midday on Tuesday, May 19, with a second 24-hour walkout set for Thursday, May 21.
The action is expected to disrupt Tube travel across four working days, reigniting a dispute that has already flared once this spring. TfL said the union was planning the strike action despite its best efforts to resolve the dispute, while an RMT spokesperson said the operator had not made any attempt to engage in negotiation meetings to resolve it.
The union said crisis talks were due to go ahead this week, but no meeting was arranged to directly discuss the industrial action. It said London Underground was still pushing implementation plans through a forum that excludes senior managers and union officials, rather than sitting down for proper negotiations. The RMT said its strike action remains on as it continues to seek a negotiated settlement.
The fresh walkouts follow industrial action in April over the introduction of a four-day working week. At the heart of the row is TfL’s plan to cut the working week for most drivers from 36 to 35 hours over four days. TfL says the proposal is voluntary and that contractual hours would not change because of the introduction of paid meal breaks. The RMT, however, is demanding a 32-hour, four-day week and says the changes could increase fatigue and compromise safety.
Aslef has accepted the plan and is not planning strike action, leaving the RMT isolated in its opposition even as it presses ahead with the stoppages. London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, told the Standard earlier this week that his message to the RMT and TfL was to sort it out.
With no direct meeting set up to defuse the dispute, the immediate question is not whether the trains will be affected, but whether either side is prepared to move before Tuesday’s deadline. For now, the answer appears to be no, and London Underground passengers are heading into another week of uncertainty.
