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London Underground strikes

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Tube Strike sign at Paddington.

London Underground strikes are a recurring part of life in the capital of the United Kingdom. Described as "one of Britain's most strike-prone industries",[1] the London Underground has been subject to travel disruption due to industrial action organised by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and other unions, in response to disputes over pay, safety, pensions, and working conditions.

As of 6 December 2022, there are no Tube strikes planned before the end of the year.[2] However, on 8 December 2022, the RMT announced the results of its latest ballot, in which 49.2 percent of its members voted in support of further walkouts over pensions and job cuts, exceeding the 40 percent needed for strike action.[3]

Background

Transport for London is the umbrella government body that operates the London Underground,[4] through its subsidiary, London Underground Limited (LUL).[5]

The largest union of Tube workers is the RMT. The others are the Aslef, the train drivers' union, and the TSSA, the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association.[1]

Public response and impact

The Tube strike on 10 November 2022 may have cost London's economy £14 million in lost output, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research. An estimated 78,000 commuters whose physical presence is required at work were unable to travel.[6]

During the rail strike on 19 August 2022, more London commuters went to work compared to previous strike days.[7] They cycled or took buses and trains, including the Elizabeth Line.[7] The London Cycle Hire Scheme has provided an alternative means of transport during Tube strikes, but quickly reaches capacity during peak travel times.[8]

Legislation

As of 7 December 2022, a bill requiring minimum levels of service to be maintained on transport networks during strikes had been introduced to Parliament, but had not yet been debated.[9]

Past strikes

Start End Participants Nature of dispute Notes
2022-11-25 2022-11-25 RMT at some Tube stations Reduction of 600 station staff jobs[10] Some stations opened later or closed earlier, including Euston, Green Park, Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3, Heathrow Terminal 4, Heathrow Terminal 5, Hatton Cross, Hounslow West, King's Cross St Pancras, and Victoria[10]
2022-11-10 2022-11-11 RMT, Unite Jobs and pensions[11] Nine out of eleven London Underground stations closed; Central and Northern Lines partially open[11]
2022-08-19 2022-08-20 0800 BST RMT, Unite Pensions, jobs, and working conditions[12] Timed to coincide with major industrial action by 40,000 RMT members working for Network Rail and 14 train operators on 18 and 20 August 2022[13]
2022-06-21 2022-06-22 RMT Compulsory redundancies and pensions[14] Timed to coincide with the first of three National Rail strike days; some reduction in TfL service on the other days where track is shared[14]
2017-01-08 1800 GMT 2017-01-09 1800 GMT RMT In response to the cutting of 900 station jobs;[15] per TfL, "Station Staffing and Safety Arrangements"[16] "This action has been forced on us by savage cuts to jobs that have reduced London Underground to an under-staffed death trap at a time of heightened security and safety alert."[15]
2016-12-24 2016-12-25 RMT Tube station staffing and impact on safety after cutting 900 front-line jobs and closing ticket offices;[17] per TFL, "Christmas and New Year Working"[16] Called off on 22 December 2016,[18] but Hammersmith & City and District Lines were closed[16]
2014-04-28 2014-04-30

2100 BST

RMT Plans to close all ticket offices and loss of 960 jobs[19] Network-wide closure;[16] per London Underground, 52% of services were running on 30 April 2014[19]
2010-09-06 17:00, 21:00[20] 2010-09-07 21:00[20] RMT, TSSA[21] Removal of 800 safety-critical jobs.[20] "RMT are up in arms at TfL's attempts to get volunteers to help people's travel plans."[22] [23] "Boris Bikes part of plans to mitigate effects of London tube strike".[24]
2010-10-03 18:30[25] ?? RMT ? [23] "With both the Mayor's office and the unions refusing to budge on the need to reduce manpower on the network, and the unions slowly escalating the non-strike action, it looks likely that this will be a long running saga."[25]
2010-11-02 ?? RMT ? [23]
2010-11-28 2010-11-29[26] RMT ? [23]
2011-06-19 2011-06-?? RMT "The sacking of Arwyn Thomas, a driver member of the RMT who was dismissed for ‘unacceptable behaviour’ towards a colleague."[27] On 15 June 2011 the RMT announced a strike would begin on 19 June 2011, disrupting the Wimbledon Championships.[28] On 22 June, a tribunal ruled that the sacking was unfair.[29] On 24 June 2011, the strikes were cancelled after London Underground reinstated the Tube driver at the centre of the dispute.[27]
2014-02-04 2014-02-06 RMT ? Further strikes over TfL's plans to close Underground ticket offices took place in February 2014.[30]

References

  1. ^ a b Darlington, Ralph (24–27 August 2009). "RMT Strike Activity on London Underground: Incidence, Dynamics and Causes" (PDF). 15th International Industrial Relations Association Conference – via International Labour and Employment Relations Association (ILERA).
  2. ^ Finnis, Alex (6 December 2022). "Are there Tube strikes in December 2022? What planned rail strike dates mean for the London Underground". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  3. ^ Lydall, Ross (8 December 2022). "Tube strikes: RMT members vote for six more months of walkouts set to pile on travel misery". The Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. ^ Dawood, Sarah (13 July 2021). "Is TfL proof that public transport should be run by government?". The New Statesman. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  5. ^ "Subsidiary companies". Transport for London. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  6. ^ "How strikes are slowing the economic recovery and hastening the arrival of driverless trains: Industrial action by the RMT union could backfire unless new talks can offer headway". The Daily Telegraph. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  7. ^ a b Lydall, Ross; Cecil, Nicholas; Talora, Joe (19 August 2022). "'End London's Strike Misery?': Union bosses under fire for bringing Tube to virtual shutdown". Evening Standard (West End Final ed.). p. 1. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  8. ^ Yang, Yuanxuan; Beecham, Roger; Heppenstall, Alison; Turner, Andy; Comber, Alexis (January 2022). "Understanding the impacts of public transit disruptions on bikeshare schemes and cycling behaviours using spatiotemporal and graph-based analysis: A case study of four London Tube strikes". Journal of Transport Geography. 98. doi:10.1016/j.jtrangeo.2021.103255 – via Science Direct.
  9. ^ Morton, Becky (7 December 2022). "PMQs: Rishi Sunak working on 'tough' new anti-strike laws". BBC News. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  10. ^ a b McCann, Jaymi (25 November 2022). "London strike dates: When train, Tube and TfL bus strikes are next planned in November and December 2022". inews.co.uk. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  11. ^ a b Lancefield, Neil; Jones, Alan (10 November 2022). "Tube strike causing travel misery in London". Press Association. Retrieved 5 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  12. ^ "TfL reminds customers to only travel if essential ahead of strike action on Thursday and Saturday". Transport for London. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  13. ^ Thackray, Lucy (20 August 2022). "Train strikes: Why are this week's rail walkouts happening?". The Independent (Online). Retrieved 5 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  14. ^ a b Wolmar, Christian (20 June 2022). "The Tube, the unions and strike-ageddon". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  15. ^ a b "Tube staff out in force across the network - rmt". www.rmt.org.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  16. ^ a b c d "History of bus and tube strikes". Transport for London. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  17. ^ "RMT confirms action in tube station staffing dispute - rmt". www.rmt.org.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  18. ^ "Strike called for Christmas Eve is suspended - rmt". www.rmt.org.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  19. ^ a b "Tube strike: Disruption continues as strike ends". BBC News. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  20. ^ a b c "BBC News - London Underground strike causes severe disruption". Bbc.co.uk. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  21. ^ "Safety row erupts as millions prepare for Tube strike travel chaos » Local Government". 24dash.com. 6 September 2010. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  22. ^ "London Underground Tube Diary - Going Underground's Blog". London-underground.blogspot.co.uk. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  23. ^ a b c d "London Underground Recent Strike Date Data - a Freedom of Information request to Transport for London". WhatDoTheyKnow. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  24. ^ Mash Media Group Ltd. "Boris Bikes part of plans to mitigate effects of London tube strike". Exhibition News. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  25. ^ a b "London Underground Tube Diary - Going Underground's Blog". London-underground.blogspot.co.uk. 3 October 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  26. ^ "London Underground Tube Diary - Going Underground's Blog". London-underground.blogspot.co.uk. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  27. ^ a b "Tube strikes cancelled as London Underground reinstates unfairly sacked driver | Global Rail News". Rail.co. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  28. ^ "Tube strikes on as talks break down"[dead link‍]
  29. ^ "BBC News - Tube strike driver Arwyn Thomas unfairly dismissed". Bbc.co.uk. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  30. ^ Telegraph, https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/road-and-rail-transport/10617182/London-Underground-strikes-line-by-line-travel-information.html
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