Night Tube restart hit by drivers’ strike
Plans to restart the Night Tube service in London on Saturday evening have been disrupted by strike action.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) will walk out on the Victoria and Central lines at 8.30pm in an ongoing dispute over working hours for drivers.
Saturday’s strike will last for eight hours, causing issues for plans to restart the Night Tube service this weekend.
Services ground to a halt on Friday when a 24-hour strike was launched by drivers in response to plans to add additional night and weekend working hours.
The dispute comes after accusations that Transport for London (TfL) “ripped up” an agreement made in 2016, which said drivers could choose whether to work on night services.
TfL say that no jobs will be lost as a result of the change, and that drivers would work around four Night Tube weekends each year.
RMT General Secretary Mike Lynch said: “The widespread impact on services is solely down to management failure to recognise and address the anger of their staff at the imposition of damaging and unacceptable working practices.”
“This action was wholly avoidable if LU (London Underground) bosses hadn’t attempted to bulldoze through arrangements that abolished the Night Tube driver grade, lumping everyone into a central pool where they can be shunted about at will in a drive to cut costs.”
“Our members have spoken and it’s time for London Underground to start listening.”
“The Mayor and his officials need to recognise our determination to defend progressive and family-friendly working practices. We remain available for talks.”
The managing director of London’s Underground, Andy Lord, said: “I am very sorry for the inconvenience that this strike action is causing. We understand that our customers will be frustrated by the RMT’s strike action, which is timed to cause maximum disruption to London.”
“This action is the last thing London needs as it recovers from the pandemic, which is why we have done everything we can to get this action called off.”
“We are expecting to operate a reduced service overnight tonight on the Central and Victoria lines and on 3-5 December, 10-12 December and 17-18 December. Customers are advised to check before they travel and use buses to complete their journeys where required.”
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