A couple of weeks ago, we brought you the possibility of major strikes hitting the Tube. Well, talks have broken down and strikes are on their way. Starting next Monday, they’ll cause 24 hours of chaos for Londoners.
Yes, we all love what the London Underground (LU) brings us, but it’s days like these when we wish we worked closer to home. It’s London’s reliance on this maze of tunnels – it carries three million people a day – that makes strikes so effective at bringing the city to a standstill.
Talks between union leaders and LU broke down yesterday over the proposed loss of 800 ticket office jobs. LU chiefs argue that a shrinking number of tube journeys start with a visit to the ticket office, but unions claim that these job cuts will result in a worse and less safe service for passengers.
Here come the strikes
And so a potential shower of strikes is on its way, with the first starting at 5pm on Monday 6 September. This’ll hit homebound commuters hard and everyone else for most of Tuesday.
How much of the network will be affected? It won’t really be clear until it happens – but with the unions RMT and TSSA representing 10,000 staff, you better expect major disruption. And strikes could return next month, unless the issues are resolved.
When we asked what wound you up most about the Tube, most voted for either hot and sweaty trains or too few trains – scheduled closures and daily disruptions lagged behind. Maybe next week’s strikes will change your mind. So here’s your chance to have your say once again.
What winds you up most about London's Tube?
Too many people, too few trains (39%, 80 Votes)
Too many scheduled closures on weekends. (26%, 53 Votes)
The trains are hot and sweaty (24%, 50 Votes)
There are always daily disruptions (11%, 22 Votes)
Total Voters: 205
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