London Underground Faces Week of Strikes

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Passengers across the capital are bracing for severe disruption as the RMT union confirmed a week of rolling strikes on the London Underground beginning Friday, 5 September. The walkouts, which will affect multiple staff grades on different days, centre on disputes over pay, fatigue management, and working conditions.

RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey accused London Underground (LU) management of failing to take staff concerns seriously. “Fatigue and extreme shift rotations are serious issues impacting our members’ health and wellbeing – all of which have not been adequately addressed for years by LU management,” he said.

The union has also pushed for a reduction in the contractual 35-hour working week, a demand Transport for London (TfL) insists is not affordable. A TfL spokesperson said: “We urge the RMT to put our fair, affordable pay offer to their members and to continue to engage with us. We have offered a 3.4% increase and made progress on several commitments previously agreed.”

RMT has accused transport bosses of taking a “dismissive approach,” saying this attitude has fuelled “widespread anger and distrust” among staff. Dempsey added that the union remained open to further talks: “RMT will continue to engage LU management to seek a revised offer to reach a negotiated settlement.”

The planned strikes will hit the network in phases. Engineers, station staff, and train operators are scheduled to walk out from midnight on 8 September until 9 September, with further stoppages after midnight on 10 September. Signallers, service control, and Emergency Response Unit (ERU) members will strike on 9 September, with additional action planned for 11 September.

Track access controllers, control centre teams, and power staff, alongside ERU members, will strike on 7 September, while Ruislip depot operational managers are due to strike from 18:00 BST on 5 September until 17:59 on 6 September.

In addition, workers on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) will also stage strike action in the week beginning 7 September as part of a separate dispute.

The last major RMT strike on the Underground took place in November 2024, causing widespread disruption across London’s transport network. The upcoming action is expected to affect millions of commuters, raising fresh questions about the ability of TfL and unions to resolve disputes without bringing services to a standstill.