A strike by transport workers in London is causing travel chaos with many services closed.
Image source, PA MediaA sixth 24-hour strike this year by London Underground workers has begun with nine Tube lines being shut down.
Staff from the Rail Maritime and Transport union (RMT) are striking in a row over job cuts, conditions and “detrimental” pension changes.
Transport for London (TfL) apologised and advised passengers to only travel if necessary.
It follows August’s industrial action, where Tube journeys were down 90%, and two walkouts in June and March.
Lines affected
- There is no service on the Bakerloo, Circle, District, Hammersmith and City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Piccadilly and Waterloo and City lines
- On the Central line there is a reduced service between White City, Ealing Broadway and West Ruislip
- On the Northern line a reduced service is running between High Barnet to East Finchley, Finchley Central to Mill Hill East and Edgware to Golders Green
- There is no service on the DLR between Shadwell and Bank
- There will be no London Overground services between Liverpool Street, Cheshunt, Chingford and Enfield Town
- The Elizabeth line is running but some stations are closed
- Buses are also expected to be extremely busy
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Receptionist Bash Abdul in Hammersmith, west London, told BBC London he had a two-and-a-half hour journey ahead of him to get to work in East Ham in east London.
He said: “It’s not convenient for anyone – it’s so stressful.
“A 12 hour shift plus double two-and-a-half hour journey is almost 17 hours.
“It’s not easy for us – it so tiring.”
The RMT said it had offered to suspend the strike during talks, but accused TfL of rejecting its proposals.
General secretary Mick Lynch said: “TfL have missed a golden opportunity to make progress in these negotiations and avoid strike action.
“Our members are resolute in their determination to see a just settlement to this dispute, and they will continue their industrial campaign for as long as it takes.”
More than 1,000 Unite members will be on strike.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “TfL is needlessly attacking our members’ pay and pensions, which Unite simply can’t accept.
“The workers have the full support of their union in fighting these attacks. TfL must stop behaving like a race-to-the-bottom employer and put forward an offer that is acceptable to our members.”
Glynn Barton, TfL’s chief operating officer, said no proposals to change pensions or conditions had been made.
TfL’s recent funding agreement with the government required it to develop options around pensions, but the organisation said if changes are to be made, there would be consultations and further work before any decisions are made.
London Underground workers received an 8.4% pay rise in April in a four-year deal, which guarantees 15,000 Tube workers an annual pay increase of 0.2% above the Retail Price Index (RPI), a measure of inflation published by the Office for National Statistics.
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