London Underground services were disrupted on Sunday at the start of walkouts by thousands of workers which will cause travel disruption in the capital.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), including drivers, signallers and maintenance workers, launched a series of strikes over pay and conditions which will lead to huge disruption for millions of travellers.
Transport for London (TfL) warned there will be few or no services between Monday and Thursday, as disruption started on Sunday.
TfL has offered a 3.4% pay rise which it described as “fair” and said it cannot afford to meet the RMT’s demand for a cut in the working week.
Nick Dent, London Underground’s (LU) director of customer operations, said union demands for a cut in the 35-hour week were “simply unaffordable” and would cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
The last Tube-wide strike was three years ago, over pay and pensions, but Mr Dent said next week’s action will be different because separate groups of workers will walk out on different days.
“It will be very damaging for us,” he added.
An RMT spokesperson said: “We are not going on strike to disrupt small businesses or the public.
“This strike is going ahead because of the intransigent approach of TfL management and their refusal to even consider a small reduction in the working week in order to help reduce fatigue and the ill health affects of long-term shift work on our members.
“We believe a shorter working week is fair and affordable, particularly when you consider TfL has a surplus of £166 million last year and a £10 billion annual operating budget.
“There are 2,000 fewer staff working on London Underground since 2018 and our members are feeling the strain of extreme shift patterns.
“London Underground is doing well financially and all our members want is fair consideration. But TfL is refusing to even consider marginally reducing the working week, citing costs ranging from tens of millions to now hundreds of millions.
“We remain open to talks, securing a negotiated settlement and call on the Mayor of London to intervene.”
Passengers have been urged to check before they travel, with Tubes that do run, as well as buses, which are expected to be busier than usual.
Docklands Light Railway services will also be hit next Tuesday and Thursday because of a strike by RMT members in a separate pay dispute.
