London Underground strikes planned by the train drivers’ union Aslef will still go ahead, however, the RMT union announced on Friday afternoon their strike action will be suspended.
After a period of strike-free travel on the London Underground, two transport unions announced a series of walkouts in November.
Yet after negotiations with London Underground, RMT announced it would no longer be going ahead with the strikes that were planned to start on Friday evening.
However, for those who commute within London, and others who frequently use Transport for London’s (TfL) tube system, planning your journeys ahead of time may be essential as the strikes are still predicted to impact much of the capital’s transport network.
Aslef and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) both announced strikes last month over a pay dispute and subsequent “inadequate” pay offers during negotiations.
While a series of strikes on the underground were announced and then cancelled this year, the last strike to affect the entire tube network was in March 2023 over pensions and working conditions, grinding London transport to a halt as traffic jams spread across the city and buses, trams, the Overground, DLR and the Elizabeth line became increasingly busier.
This time around, TfL said the action taken by the unions was “disappointing” but after RMT decided to cancel their strikes, they are hoping Aslef will also call off their planned industrial action.
Here’s everything we know about the strikes and what they will mean for TfL passengers.
Why are there strikes?
Both train unions said their members were striking due to a dispute over pay, as well as other issues such as long hours and other workers’ reliefs such as paid meals.
RMT said they were prompted to take strike action after rejecting a pay deal, which they deemed as “wholly inadequate” that leaves a large number of staff excluded from collective bargaining, which is negotiations between employees and employers.
After “repeatedly urging” London Underground to offer a new deal to cover collective bargaining, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said they have been left with no choice but to take strike action, but remained open to further negotiations.
However, in a statement on Friday afternoon, RMT announced: “Following intense negotiations with London Underground management and a significantly improved offer, we have suspended the strikes scheduled to start this evening.
“London Underground have sensibly abandoned their proposed changes to pay structures which now means all our members will receive the same value in any pay award.
“Further discussions will take place next week regarding the pay offer but progress has been made which would not have been possible without the fortitude and industrial strength of our 10,000 members on London Underground.”
Claire Mann, Transport for London’s chief operating officer, said they were “pleased” that RMT’s strikes were called off, and said further talks with the union will continue.
As for Aslef, whose members voted by over 98 per cent in favour of strike action, they are seeking a new pay agreement with London Underground.
The union said the previous offer of a 3.8 per cent pay rise and a variable lump sum would mean Tube drivers would be underpaid compared to other TfL drivers while working longer hours.
Aslef’s district organiser, Finn Brennan, said they have been “forced” into taking action because London Underground management will apparently not sit down properly and negotiate with them.
Mr Brennan said on Wednesday to the London Standard that there had been “no movement” from TfL in response to its demands for improving tube driver conditions.
“The Aslef strikes are still on.”
When are the strikes?
Now RMT has cancelled their strikes, TfL has advised on how passengers may be affected during the remaining strike action carried out by Aslef.
7 November: No Tube services expected.
12 November: Severe disruption on the Tube, with little to no service expected. Any services that run are expected to start late and finish early.
Mann said: “We will continue to work closely with all our trade unions, and urge Aslef to also call off its planned action next week. If it goes ahead, customers should check before they travel as during their strikes on 7 and 12 November, there will be little-to-no service.”
Which Tube lines will be affected?
TfL indicates that the London Underground network will be affected.
There are no strikes planned on other TfL services. However, some DLR, London Overground (including the Night Overground) and the Elizabeth line services may not stop at certain stations with tube lines. This is due to possible station closures.
TfL says that other transport services will be extremely busy and journeys may be delayed.
Roads are also predicted to be extremely busy.