Tube strike 'remains on' ahead of walkout as Londoners face week of disruption
Rail unions have insisted that this weekend's proposed rail strike 'remains on' amid a fallout over pay and working conditions.
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Speaking exclusively with LBC, a spokesperson for the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) insisted the union continues its attempts to 'break the impasse' but that deals 'have been rejected so far'.
The walkout is set to begin on Sunday, September 7, and continue through to Thursday, September 11.
Current strikes are set to affect London underground lines, as well as DLR services.
Different sections of RMT's membership will walk out on different days spread across the week, with little or no service on tube lines across sections of the network.
The strikes, announced earlier this week, have had serious knock-on effects, with Coldplay forced to move two of their Wembley Stadium shows due to the disruption.
It comes as an RMT spokesperson told LBC: "The public statements from TfL have been disappointing and intransigent.
"We are seeking a revised offer which addresses our members concerns about pay conditions and agreements.
"Overtures have been made by RMT to break the impasse but have been rejected so far.
"Meanwhile, the strikes remain on."
The walkout comes after management ‘refused to engage seriously’ with union demands on pay, fatigue management, extreme shift patterns and a reduction in the working week, as well as ‘failing to honour previous agreements made with staff’, according to the RMT.
The RMT union, which is the largest specialist transport union in the country, said management’s ‘dismissive’ approach has “fuelled widespread anger and distrust among the workforce”.
From Friday September 5 until Thursday September 11, underground services will be severely disrupted with little to no service across most lines.
Any services that run between Monday September 8 and Thursday will start later than usual, with no service before 8am.
The Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria and Waterloo & City lines will all be affected by the strikes.
Other Transport for London services, including the Overground, the Elizabeth Line, and the tram, will be running normally, but are expected to be busy.
Anybody planning to travel these days is encouraged to plan ahead, check before they travel, and allow extra time to complete their journey.
TfL's spokesperson said: "We regularly meet with our trade unions to discuss any concerns that they may have, and we recently met with the RMT to discuss some specific points.
"We are committed to ensuring our colleagues are treated fairly and, as well as offering a 3.4 per cent pay increase in our ongoing pay discussions, we have made progress on a number of commitments we have made previously.