Tube strike announced for Central and Victoria lines

The rail union the RMT has announced that its members on two London Underground lines will be on strike at the end of the month.

If it goes ahead, the strike on the Central and Victoria lines will start at 8pm on Thurs 29th August, running through to 8pm on Friday 30th August.

Based on previous strikes, the Victoria line can be expected to lose around half its drivers, so able to maintain a reduced service, but the Central line could be hit hard if the strike goes ahead.

The RMT says that the strikes are over two separate issues affecting the two lines.

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said “Our Train Operator members have been forced to take strike action on the Central and Victoria Lines after a breakdown in industrial relations in ongoing disputes which management refuse to settle and which they have dragged out for as long as they can.”

On the Central line, they are blaming understaffing issues, misuse of the attendance at work and disciplinary policies, inadequate welfare facilities and breaches of local agreements.

On the Victoria line the RMT says that the dispute arises over a range of work issues and the noise levels on the line.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We have met with the RMT to discuss their issues a number of times, and have outlined how we can address their concerns. We are surprised that they have announced strike action, rather than continuing to work with us to resolve these issues.”

And before people start saying “driverless trains” there’s a really good reason why that wont be an option any time soon – details here.

Update – typo in date corrected, strike runs from 8pm on 29th to 8pm on 30th August