LONDONERS are braced for travel disruptions with the September tube strikes incoming.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) recently voted heavily in favour of strike action.
EPAThere will be no service on all London Underground lines between Sunday and Thursday[/caption]
GettyThis comes after long term disputes over pay and conditions were still not resolved following nine months of negotiating[/caption]
AlamyThe RMT want a cut in the 35- hour working week which TfL say they can’t afford[/caption]
This comes after long term disputes over pay and conditions were still not resolved following nine months of negotiating.
Transport for London (TfL) have offered a pay increase of 3.4% to the union workers, which they described as “fair”.
The RMT disagree and are holding out for a cut in the 35- hour working week – to which TfL are saying they cannot afford.
Claire Mann, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We welcome further engagement with our unions about fatigue and rostering across London Underground, but a reduction in the contractual 35-hour working week is neither practical nor affordable.”
At the time of writing, Nick Dent, London Underground’s director of customer operations, has said it was not too late to call off the strikes before causing chaos in the capital.
Is the Tube strike going ahead?
As things stand the strikes look likely to materialise as the RMT and TfL remain in negotiations.
Unless an agreement is reached by Friday night, the planned strikes will go ahead.
This means there will be little to no underground action for almost a week.
As the strikes are planned from midnight on Sunday 7 September to 11.59pm on Thursday 11 September.
In this time period, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) services that share stations with the tube may also face disruption.
AlamyUnless an agreement is reached by Friday night, the planned strikes will go ahead[/caption]
GettyThe strikes are planned from midnight on Sunday 7 September to 11.59pm on Thursday 11 September[/caption]
Have any events been affected?
As a result of the strikes, Coldplay have had to reschedule the final two dates of their Music of the Spheres shows at Wembley Stadium.
The dates have been changed from September 7 and 8 to September 6 and 12 respectively.
On social media, the band said: “Without a Tube service, it’s impossible to get 82,000 people to the concert and home again safely, and therefore no event licence can be granted.”
American rapper and singer Post Malone also had to reschedule his two shows at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium due to the strikes.
His previous dates of September 7 and 8 have now been altered to be September 20 and 21.
GettyColdplay have been forced to reschedule the final two dates of their Music of the Spheres shows at Wembley Stadium due to the strikes[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
