Thousands of London Underground workers have launched strike action over pay and working conditions, causing severe disruption across the capital's transport network.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), including drivers, signallers and maintenance workers, began their walkout on Sunday with limited services running.
The disruption will intensify from Monday, with Transport for London (TfL) warning passengers to expect few or no Tube services between Monday and Thursday.
No trains will run before 8am and travellers must complete their journeys by 6pm during the strike period.
The Docklands Light Railway will also face complete shutdowns on Tuesday and Thursday due to a separate RMT pay dispute affecting those services.
TfL has offered workers a 3.4% pay rise, which the transport authority describes as fair given current financial constraints.
Nick Dent, London Underground's director of customer operations, said union demands for a cut in the 35-hour week were "simply unaffordable" and would cost hundreds of millions of pounds.
The action represents the first Tube-wide strike in three years, though Dent noted this week's disruption will differ from previous walkouts as separate groups of workers will walk out on different days.
"It will be very damaging for us," he said.
An RMT spokesperson said: “We are not going on strike to disrupt small businesses or the public.
“This strike is going ahead because of the intransigent approach of TfL management and their refusal to even consider a small reduction in the working week in order to help reduce fatigue and the ill health effects of long-term shift work on our members.
“We believe a shorter working week is fair and affordable, particularly when you consider TfL has a surplus of £166 million last year and a £10 billion annual operating budget.
“There are 2,000 fewer staff working on London Underground since 2018 and our members are feeling the strain of extreme shift patterns.
“London Underground is doing well financially and all our members want is fair consideration. But TfL is refusing to even consider marginally reducing the working week, citing costs ranging from tens of millions to now hundreds of millions.
“We remain open to talks, securing a negotiated settlement and call on the mayor of London to intervene.”
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been edited with the help of Artificial Intelligence.
