Commuters take the brunt of strikes, again

INDUSTRIAL action on the Tube and rail networks has once again caused chaos for commuters today. On the Central line, staff began a 24-hour stoppage last night, with no trains running east of Leytonstone today and significant delays on the rest of the line. Meanwhile, long-suffering Southern passengers have experienced cancellations, delays and overcrowding thanks to yet another walkout by RMT members.

The details of the Southern dispute are all too familiar, with guards unhappy over the move to a driver-only operation and the impact this will have on their roles. It is appalling that this year-long wrangle remains unresolved. No regular user of Southern has remained unaffected; and for some commuters the regular strike action has cost them their health, contact with their families and even their jobs. The RMT’s intransigence beggars belief.

On the Tube, the cause of today’s industrial unrest is arguably even more incomprehensible, the strike having been called by the unions in response to a proposal to move just eight drivers from the Central line to other parts of the Underground. The RMT and Aslef say bosses are forcing staff to travel longer distances to get to work; London Underground says it is entitled to request that employees work beyond their “home” depot as part of existing contractual arrangements. A full-on strike is a wholly disproportionate reaction by union chiefs.

Plainly, strikes have a disastrous effect on the economy. With every day lost to them the need for ministers — and the Mayor — to take a tougher line becomes clearer. Sadiq Khan promised there would be “zero strikes” on public transport if he were elected; that may sound hollow but is all the more reason for him to show mettle now.