The London tube strike that began Wednesday is ongoing and primarily affects commuters. This is a result of a failure to resolve the issue between union leaders and London Underground Officials regarding - not only about the rightful pay for their new night service - but for the working conditions of the staff as well, as reported by HNGN earlier.
Commuters had no access to the tube since 6:30 p.m. local time Wednesday and the delays will continue throughout Thursday. The Transport for London (TfL) announced that the following stations will be closed for the ongoing strike: Bakerloo, Central, Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, Waterloo & City.
London has also added services on trams, hundreds of extra buses, railways, cable cars, and additional river services in anticipation of the strike. Regular tube service operations will resume on Friday, Aug. 7, Telegraph UK reported.
TFL also advised commuters that congestion should be expected, thus, opting for buses and taxis may not be feasible especially for peak hours. To avoid traffic, for-hire bikes were added in Abbey Orchard Street, Soho Square, Houghton Street, Finsbury Square, Waterloo Place, Chapel Place and Concert Hall Approach, according to BBC.
Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) stated several reasons why it is protesting against the term of the possible night tube. First are safety concerns that are not coordinated yet with the Health and Safety Department. Next is the proposed working arrangement for the staff ignoring previous agreements. TSSA believes this set-up will jeopardize the staff's balanced lifestyle that may put passengers at risk. Last, London Underground has only one-off non-pensionable salary for staff in charge of the Night Tube, said on TSSA's website.
Mayor Boris Johnson declared the strike as a blackmail to London commuters. "What I won't do is sit down and negotiate with them when they are holding a gun to Londoners' heads," he said after several discussions with unions.
General Secretary Mick Cash of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers' Union (RMT) said in defense of those who were on strike: "Our dispute is not with the traveling public. It is with those who have botched the introduction of Night Tube and who are trying to plug staffing gaps by wrecking any chance of a decent work/life balance for our members. It really is as simple as that," The Guardian reported.
"The anger and determination of a wholly united tube workforce can be seen on the joint picket lines across the network this morning," Cash added. "Those voices must be heard and understood now and talks convened so that the fundamental issues at the heart of this dispute can be resolved."
