London Underground has issued a last-minute appeal for Tube strikes to be called off, as thousands of workers prepare for walkouts set to cause travel chaos in the capital.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, including drivers, signallers, and maintenance staff, are set to launch a series of strikes over pay and conditions, which will cause huge disruption to services next week.
Transport for London (TfL) has warned of few or no services between Monday and Thursday, with some disruption on Sunday.
TfL has offered a 3.4 per cent pay rise, which it described as “fair”, stating it cannot afford to meet the RMT’s demand for a cut in the working week.
Nick Dent, London Underground’s director of customer operations, said it is not too late to call off the strikes.
He said that the company had made a “fair” pay offer, without any conditions attached, which he urged the RMT to put to a ballot of its members.
Union demands for a cut in the 35-hour week were “simply unaffordable” and would cost hundreds of millions of pounds, he said.
“We have met four times in the past two weeks and we would welcome further talks.
“It is not too late to call off the strikes and put our offer to the RMT members.”
The last Tube-wide strike was three years ago, over pay and pensions, but Mr Dent said next week’s action will be different because separate groups of workers will walk out on different days.
“It will be very damaging for us,” he added.
Passengers have been urged to check before they travel, with Tubes that do run, as well as buses, which are expected to be busier than usual.
Docklands Light Railway services will also be hit next Tuesday and Thursday because of a strike by RMT members in a separate pay dispute.
