- The strike has left all subway lines and 63 bus lines without service.
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| Archive image of the London Underground. |
London public transport paralyzed due to another bus and Tube strike
Public transport in London is affected this Friday by a new strike that has left almost all subway lines and some buses in the British capital without service, a strike that adds to the protests in the railway sector this week in the United Kingdom. The measure has been called by the Union of Rail and Maritime Transport (RMT, for its acronym in English), demanding better wages and working conditions.
In addition to the lack of service on the Metro, some bus lines in west and south-west London are also affected by the strike supported by drivers who are members of the Unite union, demanding better wages.
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63 bus lines stops
Some 63 bus lines in the capital are not operating this Friday, causing disruption for thousands of people and traffic congestion, despite the fact that many citizens worked from home.
This situation in transport, which adds to yesterday's forceful measure of British railway workers, coincides with the inflationary crisis in the country, where year-on-year inflation has reached 10.1%, the highest rate in over 40 years, which is expected to rise to 13% by the end of the year.
Discontent over job cuts
The strike responds to the discontent of the sector union over the plans of Transport for London (TfL), the company responsible for transport in the capital, to eliminate between 500 and 600 station ticket offices and review a pension plan in order to achieve estimated savings at 100 million pounds (117 million euros) a year from 2025.
The general secretary of the RMT, Mick Lynch, told the media on Friday that he regretted that this situation bothers people. "We are normal men and women who want to do our job and provide a service, but when an employer is cutting you to pieces, you have to resist," he added.
Nick Dent, TfL's chief operating officer, admitted to Sky News on Friday that it was a "difficult" day to travel, adding that he did "everything possible to avoid this strike. Unfortunately, the disruption will be quite significant for London." The manager stressed that the company has worked with the unions and that it has been "open and transparent about the impact that the pandemic has had on our finances."
For his part, the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, declared this Friday to the Sky News chain that this strike responds to "the concern" of the Metro workers about changes in the pension plan.
"Our transport workers have been heroes over the last two and a half years in continuing transport in London (during the pandemic) to enable our key workers such as nurses, doctors, teachers, retailers, or police officers to go to work," affirmed the mayor of the capital.
"The way to reward them is not by setting draconian conditions to unilaterally change their pensions," he said.
Railway strike
Thursday's strike by more than 45,000 rail workers brought the UK train network to a near standstill, in protest to demand pay rises in line with rising inflation.
In addition to employees of 14 railway companies, thousands of workers from the operator Network Rail, responsible for the tracks and signaling, participated in the strikes, so the activity of the firms that did not participate in the strike was affected.
Workers in the railway sector ask to unfreeze their salaries with an increase of 7% (below the inflation rate), that there be no compulsory dismissals as part of reform and that their working conditions be respected.
Network Rail, part of the Ministry of Transport, wants to cut some 2,500 jobs, as far as possible on a voluntary basis to replace them with new technologies, especially in track inspection and ticket offices.
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