RMT announces strikes on London Underground later this month
by 0 
Several days of strike action on the London Underground have been announced from 23 July amid a continuing row over pay and jobs.
The RMT union said different grades and sections of the Tube would take strike action between Sunday 23 July and Friday 28 July, insisting that its action would “shut down” the parts of the network affected each day.
It added, however, that there would be no strike on Monday 24 July.
Read more:
Full list of rail strikes taking place in July
The union has been in a long running dispute with Transport for London (TfL) over jobs, cuts and “attacks on pensions and working conditions”.
It said 600 jobs were scheduled to be axed across the system, “leading to the likelihood of more unstaffed stations and a lowering of safety standards”.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch added: “This week of action will shut down the London Underground and show just how important the work of our members is.
“Plans by TfL to cut 600 jobs and attack our members’ pensions are simply unacceptable.
“We are aware that Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has had the TfL budget cut.
“However, he needs to align himself with our union and his London Underground staff in pushing back against the Tory government, exposing their damaging agenda to a key part of London transport infrastructure.”
The union’s campaign started last year and has led to several stoppages.
It reflects a backlash against efforts to cut budgets as the rail network, as a whole, reels from the impact of lost revenue during the COVID pandemic.
Passenger numbers have failed to recover since.
That central argument has been rejected by unions which have also pledged to fight plans to close almost every single ticket office in England.
The RMT, which remains in dispute with train operating companies on pay and conditions issues, has called further strike days for the 20, 22 and 29 July.
TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, Glynn Barton, said: “We are disappointed that the RMT has announced strike
action on this range of issues that we have been attempting to discuss with them openly.
“We are urging the union to reconsider and engage with us to discuss the issues and seek a resolution.”
