Tube passengers face disruption as drivers launch a 24-hour strike
DRIVERS on London Underground have launched a 24-hour strike in a dispute over the “forced displacement” of staff, which will cause disruption to Tube services.
London Underground drivers have launched a 24-hour strike
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union who work on the Central line walked out at 9pm on Wednesday, hitting evening services and threatening travel misery for tens of thousands of commuters on Thursday.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT negotiators have made strenuous efforts through the Acas machinery to resolve this dispute, but the door has been slammed in our faces.
“If London Underground (LU) are allowed to get away with this move on the Central line they will start shunting drivers around at the drop of a hat, regardless of the consequences.“
LU said there would be no service east of Leytonstone and a reduced service running on the rest of the Central line all day on Thursday, while the Waterloo & City line would not run at all.
The walkout threatened misery for tens of thousands of commuters
Steve Griffiths, LU's chief operating officer, said: “This strike is completely unnecessary.
This strike is completely unnecessary
“Like any responsible transport authority we regularly examine how we can provide the best possible service to customers and to achieve this sometimes we need to move staff from locations where they are under-utilised, to the places where they are really needed.
“We have agreements with the trade unions that enable us to do this.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union's negotiators have made efforts to resolve the dispute
Queues snake through London station during tube strike
“Following a review on the Central line we identified eight train drivers on the east end of the line where there is not enough work for them and we have asked them to move to another line where their work would make a real difference and help give our customers a better service.”