Buckle up folks, it’s Tube strike time.
Please note: This strike has now been called off ahead of a fresh round of talks.
OK, so these sort of things often skirt the “will they, won’t they” scenario as talks continue up until the last minute, but here’s what we know for now. From 10pm on Wednesday, November 27th, drivers on the Victoria line will embark upon a twenty-four hour strike, putting one of London’s busiest tube lines out of action all day.
After a ballot of RMT union members, drivers on the Victoria line voted to proceed with strike action, based on ongoing disputes over pay, procedures, and treatment of staff. Furthermore, the union has warned of further strikes in December if the dispute continues, raising the prospect of more disruption to commuters.
TfL are, unsurprisingly, “disappointed”, and have urged the union to “continue working with us to solve these issues rather than disrupt Londoners with strike action”. Seasoned Londoners know this game well, with nothing set in stone until the day of the strike action arrives; a planned strike on the Victoria and Central lines was called off over the summer, only a few days before action was set to begin. In the meantime, keep an eye on TfL for updates, but perhaps it’s time to start planning an alternative route – or even better, a day off!
Also published on Medium.