RMT tube strike, December 2021

RMT tube strike, December 2021   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

London Underground workers on the tube have voted for strike action after bosses refused to give assurances on jobs, pensions and working conditions.

The transport union RMT has confirmed that members voted ‘yes’ for strike action and action short of a strike in a ballot of over ten thousand members across all grades of London Underground staff. 94% of members voted to strike.

The ballot took place after workers were refused assurances on jobs, pensions and working conditions in the middle of the ongoing funding crisis on London Underground and the threat of cuts by both London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the Tories.

London Underground night-tube workers have already been taking strike action over detrimental changes to their working hours, and have escalated that action this year, striking every weekend until June.

One tube worker told the Socialist last year: “The tube network has been hit financially, but management are using that as an excuse to attack us, even though they sat at home when we kept the tube running during the pandemic, risking our health. On pensions alone, it means after 30 years of shift work a tube worker can expect to retire on less than half their salary.”

The RMT says: “The ballot has now closed and the union is considering the result and what action to put on. It must never be forgotten that these are the same transport staff praised as heroes for carrying London through Covid for nearly two years, often at serious personal risk, who now have no option but to rise up and defend their livelihoods.”