London Underground strikes

London Underground strikes are an intermittent 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 job reductions, pensions, pay, safety, and working conditions.

Tube Strike sign at Paddington.

As of 21 July 2023, London Underground strikes were called off after originally being planned for the following week.[2]

Background

Transport for London is the umbrella government body that operates the London Underground,[3] through its subsidiary, London Underground Limited (LUL).[4]

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.[5]

During the rail strike on 19 August 2022, more London commuters went to work compared to previous strike days.[6] They cycled or took buses and trains, including the Elizabeth Line.[6] The London Cycle Hire Scheme has provided an alternative means of transport during Tube strikes, but quickly reaches capacity during peak travel times.[7]

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.[8]

History

From 2000 to 2008, the RMT balloted for industrial action at least 50 times, resulting in member votes for strike action on 18 occasions. Overall, there were 30 separate strikes during this period.[1]

List of past strikes and closures
Start End Participants Nature of dispute Notes
2010-09-06 17:00, 2100 BST[9] 2010-09-07 2100 BST[9] RMT, TSSA[10] Removal of 800 safety-critical jobs.[9] "RMT are up in arms at TfL's attempts to get volunteers to help people's travel plans."[11] [12]"Boris Bikes part of plans to mitigate effects of London tube strike".[13]
2010-10-03 1830 BST[14] 2010-10-04 1900 BST RMT, TSSA 800 job losses[15] 24-hour strike, during which TfL claimed 40% of services were running; union leaders asked Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene[15]
2010-11-28 2010-11-29[16] RMT, TSSA LU cutting 800 jobs, largely ticket office staff; unions say staff cuts affect safety and ability to combat crime, terrorism[17] Fourth in a series of one-day strikes[17][12]
2011-06-19 2100 BST 2011-06-20 0300 BST RMT Sacking of Northern Line driver Arwyn Thomas; LU claimed it was due to abusive behaviour toward colleagues, while RMT claimed it was punitive for being a union activist[18] First of four planned walkouts; only six hours long, it led to accusations that RMT was staging "pointless" strikes to enable further strikes;[18] on 22 June 2011, a tribunal ruled that the sacking was unfair;[19] on 24 June 2011, further strikes cancelled after London Underground reinstated the Tube driver at the centre of the dispute[20]
2014-02-04 2014-02-06 RMT, TSSA Protest against plans to cut 750 jobs, automate ticket sales, close ticket offices[21] Two-thirds of services halted during 48-hour strike;[21][22] second 48-hour strike called off
2014-04-28 2014-04-30

2100 BST

 RMT Plans to close all ticket offices and loss of 960 jobs[23] Network-wide closure;[24] per London Underground, 52% of services were running on 30 April 2014[23]
2016-12-24 2016-12-25 RMT Tube station staffing and impact on safety after cutting 900 front-line jobs and closing ticket offices;[25] per TFL, "Christmas and New Year Working"[24] Called off on 22 December 2016,[26] but Hammersmith & City and District Lines were closed[24]
2017-01-08 1800 GMT 2017-01-09 1800 GMT RMT In response to the cutting of 900 station jobs;[27] per TfL, "Station Staffing and Safety Arrangements"[24] "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."[27]
2022-06-06 2022-06-07 0800 BST RMT on some lines Jobs and pensions[28] Complete suspension of Piccadilly Line; Bakerloo and Jubilee Lines remained open; other lines reported closed despite TfL claiming "good service" elsewhere[29]
2022-06-21 2022-06-22 RMT Compulsory redundancies and pensions[30] 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[30]
2022-08-19 2022-08-20 0800 BST RMT, Unite Pensions, jobs, and working conditions[31] 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[32]
2022-11-10 2022-11-11 RMT, Unite Jobs and pensions[33] Nine out of eleven London Underground stations closed; Central and Northern Lines partially open[33]
2022-11-25 2022-11-25 RMT at some Tube stations Reduction of 600 station staff jobs[34] 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[34]
2023-03-15 2023-03-18 RMT at all the Tube stations Thousands of union staff walked out in a dispute over pensions and working arrangements. All stations were closed.

References
  1. 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. Lydall, Ross (21 July 2023). "Tube strikes are OFF after unions secure concessions from TfL". Evening Standard. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  3. Dawood, Sarah (13 July 2021). "Is TfL proof that public transport should be run by government?". The New Statesman. Retrieved 8 December 2022.
  4. "Subsidiary companies". Transport for London. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  5. "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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Morton, Becky (7 December 2022). "PMQs: Rishi Sunak working on 'tough' new anti-strike laws". BBC News. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  9. "BBC News - London Underground strike causes severe disruption". Bbc.co.uk. 7 September 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  10. "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.
  11. "London Underground Tube Diary - Going Underground's Blog". London-underground.blogspot.co.uk. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  12. "London Underground Recent Strike Date Data - a Freedom of Information request to Transport for London". WhatDoTheyKnow. 16 December 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  13. Mash Media Group Ltd. "Boris Bikes part of plans to mitigate effects of London tube strike". Exhibition News. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  14. "London Underground Tube Diary - Going Underground's Blog". London-underground.blogspot.co.uk. 3 October 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  15. Jones, Alan (5 October 2010). "War of words as Tube strike bites: Unions call for PM to step in". Daily Post. Liverpool. Retrieved 9 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  16. "London Underground Tube Diary - Going Underground's Blog". London-underground.blogspot.co.uk. 26 November 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  17. Wright, Robert (26 November 2010). "London suffers fourth Tube strike". FT.com. Retrieved 9 December 2010 – via ProQuest.
  18. Murray, Dick; Darrall, Stephanie (20 June 2011). "'Pointless' Tube strike... so staff can strike again". London Evening Standard (West End final ed.). Retrieved 9 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  19. "BBC News - Tube strike driver Arwyn Thomas unfairly dismissed". Bbc.co.uk. 22 June 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  20. "Tube strikes cancelled as London Underground reinstates unfairly sacked driver | Global Rail News". Rail.co. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  21. Winning, Nicholas (11 February 2014). "London Subway Strike Called Off by Unions". Dow Jones Institutional News. Retrieved 9 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  22. Payton, Matthew (4 February 2014). "London Underground strikes: line-by-line travel information". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  23. "Tube strike: Disruption continues as strike ends". BBC News. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  24. "History of bus and tube strikes". Transport for London. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  25. "RMT confirms action in tube station staffing dispute - rmt". www.rmt.org.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  26. "Strike called for Christmas Eve is suspended - rmt". www.rmt.org.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  27. "Tube staff out in force across the network - rmt". www.rmt.org.uk. Retrieved 9 January 2017.
  28. "Tube strike 'chaos': 5 MINUTE BRIEFING". Manchester Evening News. 7 June 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  29. Coffey, Helen (7 June 2022). "Which London Underground lines are affected by today's Tube strike?". The Independent (Online). Retrieved 9 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  30. Wolmar, Christian (20 June 2022). "The Tube, the unions and strike-ageddon". Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  31. "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.
  32. Thackray, Lucy (20 August 2022). "Train strikes: Why are this week's rail walkouts happening?". The Independent (Online). Retrieved 5 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  33. Lancefield, Neil; Jones, Alan (10 November 2022). "Tube strike causing travel misery in London". Press Association. Retrieved 5 December 2022 – via ProQuest.
  34. 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.
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