London train strikes LATEST: Chaos on Tube & buses as TFL staff walk out; list of affected routes on Fri August 19th

Refuse collection workers to hold more strike action

More refuse collection workers are to strike over pay in the latest outbreak of industrial action hitting growing sectors of the economy.

The GMB said its members in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead will walk out on August 31 and the stoppage will continue until employers Serco make an improved pay offer.

The union said a 6% offer has been rejected by members, adding that rates of pay in the borough are below those in neighbouring authorities.

Nikki Dancey, GMB regional officer, said: “This is one of the most expensive areas in the country to live and this pay offer neither reflects that, nor the current rate of inflation, or the attached cost-of-living crisis.

“Increasing numbers of Serco workers are being forced into claiming benefits and using foodbanks to survive, and this will only worsen as we head towards winter.

“The strike will be going ahead from August 31 and the workers don’t plan to return until they are offered a decent pay rise which reflects the vital work they do every day.

“There is still time though for Serco to avoid any inconvenience to local residents – which of course may include the Queen – by tabling a sensible pay offer and not one that leaves our members comparatively far worse off than they were last year.”

RMT boss claims members’ pensions are at risk

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, said members’ pensions are at risk.

Speaking at a picket line in Bollo Lane, Acton Town, west London, he said: “We’re out on strike today because we haven’t got an agreement from the TfL LUL (London Underground Limited) about the future of the pension scheme, which is under threat and, at the moment, there’s negotiations going on between the Government, the Treasury, and Mayor (Sadiq) Khan’s office about the future funding of London Underground.

“They’ve cut £2 billion from the funding and that has put at risk our members’ pensions.

“They want to decimate the pensions and change it into an entirely different, cheaper scheme, which will make all our members poorer in retirement and probably pay more while they are working.

“We haven’t gotten an agreement. There’s also threats to terms and conditions. We wanted a promise that terms and conditions won’t be diluted and there is a threat of a loss of jobs in certain sections of the Underground.”

Tube strikes are harming London’s recovery from Covid-19

Tube strikes are harming London’s recovery from coronavirus, Sadiq Khan has warned.

The Mayor of London said the latest 24-hour shut down of the capital’s Underground was “incredibly frustrating”, and he could not commit that the industrial dispute between Transport for London (TfL) and unions will be resolved by the new year.

In an interview, Mr Khan stood by his 2016 pledge for “zero strikes” on the Tube, saying he had reduced walkouts between then and the start of the pandemic “by more than 70% by talking at the same time as making big changes in TfL”.

But he warned: “I am frustrated by the strikes today. It’s ordinary Londoners, commuters and businesses who will be affected today at a time we’re trying to get a recovery.

“If we were speaking in January, the amount of people using the tube was about 45% versus pre-pandemic [levels].

“It’s now more than 70%, I worry that next week when public transport is running fully, we’ll have fewer people using public transport which limits our ability to make a full recovery sooner.”

Road congestion nearly doubled in London this morning, say stats

Figures from location technology firm TomTom show a sharp rise in road congestion in London on Friday due to the Tube strike.

At 9am, the congestion level was 40%, compared with 26% at the same time last week.

The figures represent the proportion of additional time required for journeys compared with free-flow conditions.

Just 70% of London’s services running today

Mainline train services started later than normal on Friday due to the knock-on effect of Thursday’s RMT strike at Network Rail and train operators across the country.

Just 70% of services will run across Friday as a whole.

A further walkout on Saturday will reduce service levels to 20%.

Tube strike causes travel chaos across London this morning

A strike by London Underground workers is disrupting travel across the capital this morning ahead of a weekend of delays.

Services on the vast majority of Tube lines are suspended, with a very limited operation elsewhere, according to Transport for London’s (TfL) website.

Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) workers are taking industrial action over issues including jobs and pensions.

There is also disruption to bus services in west and south-west London and parts of Surrey due to a strike on Friday and Saturday by bus drivers who are members of Unite.

Sixty-three bus routes are being affected.

Saturday 20 August

Strikes on national rail services (nationwide) expected to cause severe disruption.

Buses: Services affected in west and south west London and parts of Surrey

• Impact on the following routes: 9, 18, 33, 49, 65, 70, 71, 72, 85, 94, 105, 110, 116, 117, 148, 203, 211, 216, 220, 223, 224, 235, 258, 265, 266, 272, 281, 283, 290, 293, 371, 404, 406, 411, 418, 419, 423, 440, 465, 467, 470, 481, C1, E1, E3, H17, H22, H32, H37, H91, H98, K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, N9, N18, N33, N65, N72, N266 and S3
• No Night Bus services on affected routes

London Overground – Reduced service between 08:00 and 18:00. No service after 18:00. No Night Overground

Elizabeth line

• Central (Paddington-Abbey Wood) – reduced service after 18:00
• East (Liverpool Street-Shenfield) – trains running every 30 minutes 07:00-17:30 only. Trains won’t stop at Maryland, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Goodmayes
• West (Paddington-Reading/Heathrow) – trains every 30 minutes 07:10-17:40 only.  Heathrow trains only running to Terminal 4

District line – No service between Wimbledon and Parson’s Green, and Richmond and Turnham Green before 08:00 and after 18:00

Bakerloo line – No service north of Queen’s Park

Advice on how to get around London during the strikes

• Much of Zone 1 is walkable
• You are never more than 600m from a Santander Cycle hire point in central London
• There are electric scooter rental trials in some London Boroughs

Friday disruption

Tube, London Overground and bus strikes will affect most TfL services. 

London Overground: Late start. No Night Overground

Elizabeth line

• Central (Paddington-Abbey Wood) – normal service starting 07:00. After 22:30, trains may not stop at all stations
• East (Liverpool Street-Shenfield) – normal service starting 07:00
• West (Paddington-Reading/Heathrow) – normal service starting 07:00

Trams: Reduced service

DLR: Services into Bank running 07:00-18:30

Buses: Services affected in west and south west London and parts of Surrey

• Impact on the following routes: 9, 18, 33, 49, 65, 70, 71, 72, 85, 94, 105, 110, 116, 117, 148, 203, 211, 216, 220, 223, 224, 235, 258, 265, 266, 272, 281, 283, 290, 293, 371, 404, 406, 411, 418, 419, 423, 440, 465, 467, 470, 481, C1, E1, E3, H17, H22, H32, H37, H91, H98, K1, K2, K3, K4, K5, N9, N18, N33, N65, N72, N266 and S3

No Night Bus services on affected routes

Coaches: very busy

National rail: very little service before 08:00

‘The unions are hell-bent on causing as much misery as possible’

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “It’s clear, from their co-ordinated approach, that the unions are hell-bent on causing as much misery as possible…

“To the very same taxpayers who stumped up £600 per household to ensure not a single rail worker lost their job during the pandemic.

“Sadly, union chiefs have short memories and will be repaying this act of good faith by ruining millions of hard-working people’s summer plans.

“Businesses too will suffer, with the capital’s leisure and tourism sectors, which have been banking on that summer trade, set to lose millions – a particularly cruel blow given how hard many worked to stay afloat during successive summers of lockdown.”

‘For many this is the first time they have ever taken industrial action’

TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “Our members in the rail industry are going into the third or fourth year of a pay freeze. Meanwhile, food and fuel bills are spiralling, and the Tory cost-of-living crisis is making working people poorer. Enough is enough – this cannot go on.

“For lots of our members, this is the first time they have ever taken industrial action – it is a last resort and not something any rail worker takes lightly.”

He added: “Railway workers put their lives at risk to keep the country running in the pandemic and were rightly hailed as heroes. Yet now the Tories are hampering negotiations and blocking employers from making a reasonable offer to those same rail workers.

“Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and the Department for Transport need to make a reasonable offer on pay and job security – either by coming to the table themselves or allowing employers to negotiate freely. The string-pulling and blocking negotiations must stop.

“This dispute is not going away. Thousands of rail workers across the country are experiencing real-terms pay cuts as inflation skyrockets and the cost of living keeps rising.

“We will not back down until our members have won the pay, conditions and job security they deserve.”

TSSA members strike

TSSA members taking action include staff working in ticket offices, stations, control rooms, engineering, as well as planning, timetabling and other support roles.

The union is seeking guarantees of no compulsory redundancies, a pay rise in line with the cost of living, and promises of no unilateral alterations to job terms and conditions.

‘We won’t be broken’

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said his union’s members are more determined than ever to protect their pensions, secure a decent pay rise, job security and good working conditions.

Speaking in front of a picket line at Euston station yesterday morning, he declared that the rail strike “won’t be broken” until there is a settlement to the dispute as he refused to put an end date on the industrial action.

Lynch told the PA news agency: “We don’t have a fixed programme – I don’t have a whiteboard saying it starts on this day and it ends on that day.

“We won’t be broken. We are determined to get a settlement.

“People have shown on the picket lines they are determined to dig in, we’re not going to waste our members’ efforts.

“We will take the action that our members want to take as we go along, so we’re not going to be broken.

“We will continue the fight until we get a settlement.”

Weekend disruption

On Saturday, RMT members at Network Rail and 14 train operators, TSSA members at seven companies, and Unite members at NR will strike again, along with London United bus drivers.

Sunday morning train services will be affected by the knock-on effect of Saturday’s action.

Rail services on Thursday and Saturday will be drastically reduced, with only around a fifth running, and half of lines closed.

Trains will only operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm on both strike days.

Who will be affected?

The strikes are set to spark misery not just for workers, but also holidaymakers and fans going to events.

Premier League football fixtures and a cricket Test match at Lords, which began today, will be impacted by the strikes.

Strikes will affect services until the weekend.

Who will participate in the strikes?

Network Rail, train companies, London Underground and buses in the capital will be hit by the walkouts which will spark chaos until Sunday.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite will be involved in the industrial action, after ongoing talks failed to break the deadlocked rows.

Today, RMT members at Network Rail (NR) and 14 train operators, TSSA members at seven companies, and Unite members at NR will strike.

Chaos TODAY

Commuters are bracing for days of travel misery ahead of rail, tube and bus strikes which begin TODAY.

Tens of thousands of workers will stage strikes following long -running disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.

What to expect tomorrow morning

The capital is set to grind to a halt tomorrow, as hundreds of rail workers down tools once again.

Here is how the lines will be affected:

1. London Underground: Avoid using, no night tube and severe delays all day.
2. London Overground: No overnight services.
3. Elizabeth line: Disruption.
4. Trams: Huge delays.
5. DLR: Daytime services running to Bank.
6. Buses: Severe disruption

14 separate train operators went on strike today

Network Rail, train companies, London Underground and buses in the capital have been hit by the walkouts which will spark chaos until Sunday.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite will be involved in the industrial action after ongoing talks failed to break the deadlocked rows.

Today, RMT members at Network Rail (NR) and 14 train operators, TSSA members at seven companies, and Unite members at NR went on strike.

EasyJet strikes begin TOMORROW

The first of the airline’s strikes took place on August 12 and lasted until August 14.

Now, the second strike is set to begin tomorrow and will run from August 19-21.

The third and final strike will be from August 27-29.

All three will are expected to disrupt flights at easyJet’s bases at Barcelona, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca.

Central Line suffers severe delays

The Central Line is currently suffering from severe delays, despite strike action not set to begin until tomorrow.

Tomorrow, Britain’s rail service is set to grind to a halt once more.

Rail workers are demanding higher wages, better working conditions and more employment security.

Heathrow Express at a standstill tonight

The Heathrow Express will not be running from 6:10pm this evening until tomorrow morning at 7am, so anyone arriving very late or early tomorrow morning will have to find alternative routes.

On August 20, trains won’t run before 7am or after 6:10pm.

The Stansted Express has warned travellers to “avoid travelling with them” today, as well as over the entire weekend due to both strikes and engineering works.

Luton Airport passengers will also be affected by the Thameslink strike, while Manchester Airport passengers have been warned to expect busier trains due to a reduced schedule.

Brits may want to pre-book a taxi or drive to the airport to avoid the travel chaos, as the limited trains running are likely to be busy.

Unions on the brink of ‘synchronised’ strike, RMT boss claims

Mick Lynch has claimed unions are getting ready to unite in something akin to a general strike.

Speaking to Sky News, the union boss said: “There is a wave of reaction amongst working people to the way they’re being treated.

“People are getting poorer every day of the week. People can’t pay their bills. They’re getting treated despicably at the workplace. I think there will be generalised and synchronised action. It may not be in a traditional form.

“But we’ve seen the Post Office workers and BT [on strike] we’ve seen the bus workers in London out on strike tomorrow and over the weekend. I think there is a massive response coming from working people because they’re fed up with the way they’ve been treated.”