London Underground Tube Strike: Workers’ Demands And Passengers’ Woes


Three major transport unions have launched a crippling London Underground tube strike yesterday, forcing millions of Londoners dashing for alternate transportation systems to commute to work and get back home.

London’s TSSA and RMT transport unions began a 24-hour long strike that overlaps with another organized by Aslef. The TSSA and RMT strike began at 6:30 p.m. yesterday, effectively shutting down all London Underground tube services. According to the Mirror, the unions called for the strike after talks with London Underground’s management over working conditions and wages failed.

What seems to have drove the unions into calling for the latest London Underground tube strike is a controversial “night tube” schedule. The “night tube” schedule is a planned weekend overnight Underground schedule that is planned to begin in mid-September on certain sections of select lines. If the plan does go in place as is, some Underground workers may find themselves working alone during overnight shifts for no extra pay. RMT’s official website posted a leaflet explaining why it rejects the London Underground’s demands that they “accept additional night working and working at weekends.”

The decision taken by the TSSA and RMT unions followed that of transport union Aslef, which decided to launch an overlapping 24-hour London Underground tube strike that began at 9:30 p.m. yesterday. The Guardian reported that the decision was made after Aslef union members voted for the action by an overwhelming 98 percent.

According to the Guardian, TSSA and RMT unions announced their decisions after union members voted in favor of the strike late last month. The TSSA took its decision after its members voted in favor by over 75 percent, while RMT members voted in favor of the action by 91 percent of its votes, according to the Mirror.

Official response to the unions’ demands came in different shades of no. The Independent reported London Mayor Boris Johnson gave the most straightforward answer in support of the Night Tube. Johnson was quoted as saying participants of the London Underground tube strike can “strike until they are blue in the face.”

Transport for London, the city’s organization responsible for transportation networks, responded to the unions on its Twitter page, saying the “Night Tube will boost” the city’s economy and that “striking is unnecessary.”

A number of members of parliament have voiced their understanding for the strikes. British Labour MP Dianne Abbot tweeted her understanding of the unions’ arguments for the London Underground tube strike.

As a result of the London Underground tube strike, streets throughout the city have witnessed seas of hustling Londoners seeking any alternate route to their destinations. Twitter was quickly flooded with pictures of massive crowds at major city streets.

The BBC News posted this Tweet with a picture of a large crowd of Londoners as they “try to beat” the London Underground tube strike.

The Evening Standard tweeted a photo of a massively packed Oxford Circus.

British field producer Jon Scammell posted a video of commuters rushing to catch the last train home before the London Underground tube strike started.

Despite the strike, some Londoners tried to see if any trains were still running. Luckily for them, there did turn out to be a few tubes that were running on schedule. One Twitter user, BermondseyBoy, posted a photo of an empty London Underground tube.

Sam England’s Twitter video shows.

A comment by tweep Ian Johnson suggests that the train England caught was just finishing its final round before joining the London Underground tube strike.

The Underground strike is scheduled to end today at 9:30 p.m.

How have you been affected by the strike? What was your commute like? And what’s your opinion on the London Underground tube strike?

[Image by CGP Grey via Wikimedia Commons]

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