New Tube strikes confirmed as London Underground drivers set new walk-out dates

20 March 2024 , 10:40

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Condition critical: The strikes in response to a dispute about pay and conditions for a 24-hour weekend Tube service (Image: PA)

London Underground drivers will strike on April 8 and May 4 in a long-running dispute over terms and conditions, their union Aslef has announced.

The two 24-hour walk outs are the latest in in a long-running dispute over terms and conditions. Members of Aslef will strike on both days, threatening travel misery across the capital. Aslef drivers voted by 98% in favour of strikes. They went on strike a year ago in the same dispute. Finn Brennan, the union’s organiser on London Underground, said the company had failed to give assurances that changes to terms and conditions will not be imposed without agreement.

He said: “Despite a previous commitment to withdraw plans for massive changes to drivers’ working conditions, London Underground management has established a full-time team of managers preparing to impose their plans. They want drivers to work longer shifts, spending up to 25% more time in the cab, and to remove all current working agreements in the name of flexibility and efficiency. Everyone knows what these management buzz words really mean. It’s about getting people to work harder and longer for less.”

The news comes as train drivers at 16 rail companies announce a fresh wave of strikes in a long-running dispute over pay, threatening travel chaos for passengers across the country. Members of Aslef will hold a rolling programme of one-day walkouts between April 5 and 8, coupled with a six-day ban on overtime.

The union said it wanted to increase the pressure on the “intransigent” train companies and the “tone-deaf” government following a series of strikes stretching back 20 months. The union added that train drivers have now not had a pay rise for five years, since April 2019.

Rail strikes resume tomorrow as Brits face disruption on return to work

Drivers will strike on :

• Friday, April 5 at Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, and CrossCountry
• Saturday, April 6 at Chiltern, GWR, LNER, Northern, and TransPennine
• Monday, April 8 at c2c, Greater Anglia, GTR Great Northern Thameslink, Southeastern, Southern/Gatwick Express, South Western Railway main line and depot drivers, and SWR Island Line

Members will also refuse to work their rest days from Thursday, April 4 to Saturday, April 6 and from Monday, April 8 and Tuesday, April 9.

Kelly-Ann Mills