Proof that rail strikes ARE working! Strike-loving Brits complain they’ll have to go to the office this week after union calls off Tube walkouts planned for Wednesday and Friday
- London Underground strike was due to have taken place tomorrow and on Friday
- But Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has cancelled it with hours to go
Commuters have complained working from home is now cancelled this week after the planned London Underground strike tomorrow and on Friday was called off.
The industrial action by 3,000 workers belonging to the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union was due to have crippled services – with little to no trains running at all over the two days as well as in the early morning on Thursday and Saturday.
But the walkouts were suspended at noon today following what the RMT described as ‘significant progress’ made by its negotiators and Underground representatives.
Some commuters took to social media to complain that it meant their days working from home would now be cancelled. One wrote to London mayor Sadiq Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said: ‘That is unfortunate, I will have to go to dreadful office now. Please rethink.’
Another added: ‘The Tube strikes have been cancelled meaning my WFH days have been too.’ And a third posted: ‘You people just start cancelling your WFH plans.’
Closed entrances to Euston London Underground station during an RMT strike last November
The breakthrough in talks at Acas comes just hours before the planned strike action which was scheduled to have involved more than 3,000 RMT members at stations.
Which operators are affected by Aslef strike tomorrow?
While the RMT Underground strike has now been cancelled, workers from the train drivers’ union Aslef are still striking nationally tomorrow, which will affect the following operators:
- Avanti West Coast
- c2c
- Chiltern Railways
- CrossCountry
- East Midlands Railway
- Gatwick Express
- Great Northern
- Great Western Railway
- Greater Anglia
- Heathrow Express
- Island Line
- LNER
- London Northwestern Railway
- Northern
- South Western Railway
- Southeastern
- Southern
- Stansted Express
- Thameslink
- TransPennine Express
- West Midlands Railway
The RMT claimed it had ‘managed to save key jobs, prevent detrimental changes to rosters and secure protection of earnings around grading changes’.
It added that this meant ‘key elements have been settled although there remains wider negotiations to be had in the job, pensions and working agreements dispute’.
RMT general-secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘I congratulate all our members who were prepared to take strike action and our negotiations team for securing this victory in our tube dispute. Without the unity and industrial power of our members, there is no way we would have been able to make the progress we have.
‘We still remain in dispute over outstanding issues around pensions and working agreements and will continue to pursue a negotiated settlement.’
Mr Khan said on X: ‘Strike action this week has been called off – great news for Londoners.
‘Despite the Government’s onerous funding conditions we’ve avoided strikes. This is what you can achieve when you work with, not against, unions.’
However, this does not affect the national strike by workers belonging to the train drivers’ union Aslef at 16 train operators, who are still due to walk out tomorrow.
Aslef drivers are also carrying out an overtime ban this week that began on Monday and will finish on Friday.
Operators affected by Aslef’s action are Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Heathrow Express, Island Line, LNER, London Northwestern Railway, Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Stansted Express, Thameslink, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Railway.
The Rail Delivery Group said operators will try to run as many trains as possible tomorrow but there will be wide regional variations, with some running none at all.
Closed gates at Harrow-on-the-Hill Underground station during the Tube strike in March
People getting on buses outside Liverpool Street in London last August during another strike
RMT boss Mick Lynch congratulated ‘all our members who were prepared to take strike action’
A very quiet London Charing Cross railway station last Saturday during the last Aslef strike
Services on some lines could also be hit this evening and the morning of Thursday because rolling stock will be in the wrong depots.
It follows an Aslef strike last Saturday which had a major impact on journeys, wiping out many services across the UK.
UKHospitality estimates strike disruption over the past year has cost the industry £3.5billion in lost sales – a figure which it said will rise further due to extra strikes.
Jon Trickett, Labour MP for Hemsworth in West Yorkshire, said on X today: ‘Glad to see the RMT and London Underground reach an agreement.
‘Why won’t the Tory government reach an agreement with the railway unions? They’re wasting huge amounts of public money prolonging the national dispute when it would be much cheaper for them to settle.’
Source: Read Full Article