Two further strikes will disrupt the London Underground in August, two unions have announced.
Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) union members will walk out for two 24 hour strikes beginning at 18:30 BST on Tuesday 25 August and at 18:30 on Thursday 27 August.
The strikes are the result of a breakdown in talks between the unions and the Transport for London (TfL) about the work-life balance of tube workers, job cuts, and the launch of the night-time tube in September.
TfL said the unions demanded “unaffordable” pay rises, while RMT said that its members were being forced into accepting “rosters from hell”.
RMT represents around 15% of tube drivers, but the drivers’ union, ASLEF, has not yet announced whether its members will join the strike action.
The strikes follow two strikes earlier in August over the same issues.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
“Our members the length and breadth of London Underground have made it clear that they are determined to protect their work/life balance and not fall into a trap where they will be forced to wreck their home lives in order to comply with the “rosters from hell” which have been drawn up to plug the staffing gaps in the Night Tube plans.
“Staff are angry that their grievances are being ignored and dismissed by both the Mayor and his officials and that there has been no substantial move as of today from London Underground to make progress towards a negotiated settlement. That is why we have no option but to strike again. It is ridiculous that the job cuts programme for fleet, engineering and station staff is also still being bulldozed through against this background.
“The Night Tube plan has been botched from the off. The basics haven’t been done and those who will pay for this shambles will not only be our members but the London daily travelling public who cough up a fortune and who will find their safety and the reliability of the service compromised from 12 September onwards. Running tube services with fatigued and burnt-out staff is a recipe for disaster.”
TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes commented:
“It is now time for the Mayor to start getting his hands dirty and get down to serious negotiations to avoid a week of disruption on the Tube. He should stop playing Pontius Pilate.
“He will bear a heavy responsibility if the 48-hour stoppage goes ahead while he washes his hands of his crucial role as the democratic leader of London.”
Steve Griffiths, London Underground’s Chief Operating Officer, said:
“Our customers and London’s businesses want to see this dispute resolved and we call on the unions to engage in calm and realistic discussion with us to achieve that
“Yesterday, however, and having previously argued that it was ‘not about money’, the RMT leadership made further demands for unaffordable pay rises and the hiring of even more staff – including the reversal of the modernisation of customer service in LU stations. They expect our customers to pick up a bill running into hundreds of millions of pounds for this through higher fares or by forcing us to cut back investment to improve Tube services in a rapidly growing city. No responsible management can give in to such demands.”
