London faced a third day of severe disruption as London Underground workers went on strike for the second time this week.
The second 24-hour strike follows a similar walkout on Tuesday by members of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) in a dispute over jobs and pensions.
The RMT said 10,000 members have walked out in protest at what it regards as a threat to jobs and pensions.
“To allow this strike to go ahead is incredibly insensitive and irresponsible… and catastrophically bad for business.”
Chief executive of restaurant group D&D London, Des Gunewardena
Talks at arbitration service Acas broke down last night, as hopes that strike action could be averted, were dashed.
Fulham MP, Greg Hands called the strikes “a disgrace and an insult to hard-working Londoners who have sacrificed so much the last 2 years.”
Work from home:
TfL has advised passengers to work from home if possible. Some station platforms were empty this morning as commuters heeded the advice and stayed out of central London.
Business leaders have expressed their fury and condemned this week’s Tube strikes predicting that it has cost central London business £100 million. Some business leaders have called it a “kick in the teeth”, causing major setbacks to efforts to recover from the pandemic.
Chief executive of restaurant group D&D London, Des Gunewardena told the Evening Standard: “To allow this strike to go ahead is incredibly insensitive and irresponsible… and catastrophically bad for business.”
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said. “The disruption to business this week is solely down to the Government, with the support of the Labour London Mayor, seeking to drive a coach and horses through our members’ jobs and pensions.”
Tuesday was very busy but looks today as though people have just stayed at home.
— Emma Best AM (@emmabest22) March 3, 2022
These unnecessary strikes are so damaging to London’s recovery. pic.twitter.com/SZrMCngAsX
Disruption felt all week:
Many commuters have heeded the warnings to work from home today, seeing a reduced number of queues at bus stops across the capital. The disruption is likely to last well into Friday given the significant disruption that occurred well into Wednesday morning as underground staff tried to recover from a full walkout the day before.
An Uber spokeswoman said: “As a result of the strike action…We have capped the level that prices can surge.”
A spokesman for the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said the strikes will cause disruption to Londoners and businesses trying to recover from two devastating years.
“It will also damage TfL’s revenues at a time when TfL is already under huge financial strain due to the pandemic.
“TfL are working to mitigate the impact of the strikes, but disruption is inevitable.
“The mayor urges Londoners who need to travel on 1 and 3 March to check before they make their journey, consider whether they are able to work from home, and use alternative modes of transport where possible.
“Sadiq doesn’t want to see strike action and is imploring the unions to come to the table and work with City Hall and TfL.”
Final Thought:
The Mayor of London is already at his most unpopular since becoming Mayor in 2016 and these strikes are going to deal another blow to his poll ratings.
Londoners are rightly furious about ongoing strike action given Sadiq Khan’s “no-strike” promise at the election. His approval ratings had already fallen firmly into negative territory in January and Londoners will be asking why the Mayor did not do more.
According to GLA Conservatives, there have been strikes on 50 days since Mr Khan became mayor and it is costing the capital millions in lost revenue. Businesses are struggling in the city following the pandemic.
Chamber calls on the London Mayor to stop these strikes and adhere to his election pledge.