Tube walkout adds to rail strike chaos

Capital will grind to a halt as Underground workers take action in the middle of a two-day train stoppage

TUBE workers have pledged to stage a 24-hour walkout in the middle of a twoday nationwide rail strike later this month in a fresh blow to commuters.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union have announced a strike in the capital on Aug 19 across the Tube and Overground network.

More than 40,000 union members at over a dozen train companies are also set to strike on Aug 18 and 20 in an ongoing dispute with Network Rail over pay.

Transport for London bosses were given until yesterday by union chiefs to make clear there would be no job cuts, or negative changes to pensions or working conditions.

RMT members on Arriva Rail London have rejected a 5 per cent pay offer, along with heavily discounted travel for their family and friends, and cash bonuses of up to £900 each.

Mick Lynch, RMT general secretary, said: “This strike action by our members on [London Underground] and the Overground is yet another demonstration of how transport workers refuse to accept a raw deal.

“TFL have had ample opportunity to be transparent about the funding they will receive and to give Tube workers the assurance they need.

“Yet they have totally failed to give those guarantees.

“And, Arriva Rail London, a company swimming in money, refuses to give our members a pay rise that will deal with the escalating cost of living crisis.

“There will be significant disruption on Aug 19 but TFL and Arriva Rail London bear responsibility for this breakdown in industrial relations.”

Paul Hutchings, managing director of Arriva Rail London, said: “We are hugely disappointed in the RMT union’s decision to stage industrial action on the London Overground on Aug 19.

“We know our people are experiencing cost of living pressures and have worked hard to provide a pay offer that recognises this, while ensuring Arriva Rail London has a financially sustainable future and our employees have job security for the long term.

“We remain committed to engaging with the RMT in the hope of resolving this dispute and urge the union to work with us as we continue to attract customers back to the railway.” A walkout was already staged on July 27 and less than 48 hours later the train drivers’ union Aslef also took strike action over pay.

Station and ticket office workers who are members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association also backed strike action, with Southeastern workers following suit.

Ballots will soon close at Avanti West Coast, Crosscountry and Direct Rail Services.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef, said: “We don’t want to go on strike – strikes are the result of a failure of negotiation – and this union, since I was elected GS in 2011, has only ever been on strike, until this year, for a handful of days.

“But we’ve been forced into this position by the train companies, driven by the Tory Government.

“The drivers at the companies where we are striking have had a real terms pay cut over the last three years – since April 2019.”

Train drivers will also walk out over pay on Saturday Aug 13.

The RMT rail strikes in August will affect Network Rail, along with a number of operators including Chiltern Railways, Crosscountry Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express, Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains and GTR (including Gatwick Express).

‘We don’t want to strike – strikes are the result of a failure of negotiation. We have been forced into this’