Tube drivers call eight 24-hour strikes over 16 days, six before Christmas
Train drivers on London Underground, the city's Tube network, have been called out on eight 24-hour strikes spread over 16 days, with six of them falling in the lead-up to Christmas, according to The Guardian. The first is due to begin at noon on 26 November.
The strikes are called by the RMT, a rail and transport union, and are in opposition to plans for a four-day week for tube drivers. The RMT claims the proposal would undermine existing agreements and worsen working conditions. The union has said it has yet to receive guarantees that drivers can remain on their existing five-day working arrangements. Eddie Dempsey is the union's general secretary.
Transport for London (TfL), the public body that oversees the Tube, has said the proposed four-day week would be voluntary.
Several of the planned dates fall in December. Strikes are scheduled from noon on Thursday 17 December and again on Saturday 19 December. Two more are planned in early January, with more set for February.
The four-day week proposal has been welcomed by the majority of drivers represented by the Aslef union, another union whose members drive Tube trains, according to the same report.
The dispute has run for some months. Similar RMT strikes over the four-day week took place in London in April and June. In March, the RMT suspended planned Tube strikes after progress in talks with London Underground management, the union said.
