Sadiq Khan was today urged by the Conservatives to use new minimum service laws to keep the London Underground running during next week’s major strike.
The Tube will have ‘little to no service’ from Monday until Thursday next week with members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union working on different parts of the network set to strike on separate days between tomorrow and January 12.
Major disruption will begin from this Sunday, January 7 – when Tube services will end earlier than normal with passengers advised to complete all journeys by 5.30pm.
Transport for London (TfL) then warned that from Monday to Thursday next week, ‘severe disruption is expected with little to no service’ on all Tubes. Services will then start ‘later than normal’ next Friday with a good service expected by midday.
Today, it emerged that the Elizabeth line between Bond Street and Whitechapel will also be affected by the strike, while five other rail operators – c2c, Thameslink, Great Northern, Southern and Chiltern Railways – will also have partially amended services.
But City Hall Conservatives transport spokesman Keith Prince has called on Mayor Mr Khan to use new laws to ensure Londoners can get to and from work next week.
And there is still a chance that the action could yet be called off – as happened in October last year – given talks between TfL and RMT remained ongoing today.
It comes a month after the first regulations aimed at ensuring minimum levels of service during strikes were brought into force by the Government on December 8.
Mr Prince told : ‘Sadiq Khan needs to decide if he is the Mayor for Londoners or the Mayor for trade unions. The Strikes (Minimum Service Level) Act gives Sadiq Khan the power to intervene in next week’s strikes to ensure minimum service levels on the Underground network.
‘In 2016, Sadiq Khan promised zero strikes on the Underground network. Next week’s industrial action will be the 140th strike under his watch – four times as many as the previous mayor.
‘Sadiq Khan is both Mayor and chairman of TfL. Londoners will know who to blame when the tube network grinds to a halt once again next week.’
Last month, ministers said the new regulations would apply in the rail sector, border security and ambulance services.
For the railways, minimum service levels should mean that rail operators can aim to run 40 per cent of their normal timetable during any strike.
A Statutory Code of Practice also came into force which sets out the ‘reasonable’ steps trade unions should take to ensure their members comply with work notices.
Where minimum service level regulations are in place and strike action is called, employers should be able to issue work notices to identify people who are ‘reasonably required to work’ to ensure minimum service levels are met.
The law requires unions to ensure their members who are identified with a work notice comply, and if they fail to do this, they will lose legal protection from damages claims.
The Government has also raised the maximum damages that courts can award against a union for unlawful strike action. For the biggest unions, the maximum award has risen from £250,000 to £1million.
Mayor Sadiq Khan travels on the London Underground’s Jubilee line on August 29 last year
But TfL told it had not applied the new act during this industrial action for a ‘number of reasons’.
This included that the legislation had ‘just been introduced and does not cover all of the relevant groups of staff taking action on some of the days’.
Bosses added that there were ‘also aspects that we are seeking clarification on from the Government’.
Labour has pledged to repeal the new law if it wins the next general election.
A TfL spokesman said today: ‘We are disappointed that the RMT called this action over our full and final offer of a 5 per cent pay increase.
‘We have been clear in constructive discussions that this is the most we can afford whilst ensuring that we can operate safely, reliably and sustainably. We encourage the RMT to engage with us to avoid disruption for Londoners.
‘The Minimum Service Level Act has not been applied during this industrial action for a number of reasons. The legislation has just been introduced and does not cover all of the relevant groups of staff taking action on some of the days. There are also aspects that we are seeking clarification on from the Government.’
A spokesman for Mr Khan referred to TfL when contacted about Mr Prince’s comments.
It comes after a discussion between the Tories and Mr Khan about the law at a recent meeting.
In a video tweeted by City Hall Conservatives on December 21, the group’s leader Neil Garratt asked Mr Khan: ‘The government has now given you powers to enforce minimum service levels. Is that a power you welcome, is that a power you intend to use?’
But Mr Khan replied: ‘TfL will always speak to trade unions to avoid any strike action. The legislation that you’re referring to isn’t fit for purpose for TfL in relation to safety requirements of TfL but also in relation to the minimum standards requirement for TfL.
‘But we’re hoping it doesn’t come to that because we’re hoping that – as is often the case – we manage to resolve these things amicably.’
Next week, the Docklands Light Railway, London Overground, Elizabeth line and TfL bus services are all set to be busier than normal, although none of them are technically on strike.
Some of these services may also be affected by station closures where stations also serve Underground lines, while one-way or queueing systems could be in place.
On the Elizabeth line, on Monday and Wednesday next week stations between Bond Street and Whitechapel inclusive are expected to be shut before 6.30am and after 10.30pm.
Queues for buses outside London Liverpool Street station in August 2022 during a Tube strike
Stations may also have to close at short notice, and trains will run through affected stations without stopping.
On Tuesday and Thursday next week, stations between Bond Street and Whitechapel inclusive are expected to be closed until about 7.30am, and trains will run through affected stations without stopping.
Meanwhile Chiltern Railways warned that its services between London Marylebone and Aylesbury via Amersham would be affected by the Tube strike.
This is because they run alongside Underground infrastructure including the tracks and signalling systems.
During the strike period, on some days its trains will not call at South Ruislip because the station will be closed.
Other operators due to be affected included c2c, which said trains will not be able to stop at West Ham from 6.30pm on Sunday until 7.30am next Friday. It added that c2c stations that interchange with TfL services may be busier than normal.
Great Northern said that on next Monday and Wednesday, there would be no services at Drayton Park, Highbury and Islington, Essex Road, Old Street and Moorgate.
The operator also said that trains which normally run to and from Moorgate will start and terminate at Finsbury Park on those days.
On Tuesday and Thursday next week, services at the aforementioned stations will start later than normal, with no trains before 7.30am.
Thameslink said that on Monday and Wednesday next week, there will be no services at Farringdon station.
Rail, Maritime and Transport union boss Mick Lynch with supporters at Euston in May 2022
On Tuesday and Thursday next week, Thameslink services from Farringdon will start later than normal, with no trains before 7.30am.
More trains could be cancelled today as Met Office issues warnings
Great Western Rail said more trains could be cancelled as people across the south of England face further warnings of flooding, power cuts and road closures.
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning from 12pm today with rainfall expected to travel in a north-east direction across the south of England, lasting until 3am tomorrow.
It added there is a ‘small chance’ that communities could become cut off by flooded roads.
The warning comes in the wake of Storm Henk that battered the UK on Tuesday and forced people to evacuate their homes, leaving one man dead from a tree falling in 90mph winds on the Isle of Wight.
Flooding on Great Western Railway tracks near Chipping Sodbury between Bristol Parkway and Swindon today
The Met Office added that the spell of rain today was falling on already saturated ground which could cause ‘further flooding and travel disruption’.
It said: ‘The track of the heaviest rainfall remains very uncertain, but there is a chance of 20 to 30 millimetres falling in six to nine hours across a portion of the warning area, with a few places perhaps seeing 40 to 50 millimetres. Impacts are more likely due to the current very wet ground across the region.’
GWR services between Swindon and Bristol Parkway remain closed due to flooding on the tracks during Storm Henk, and trains are being diverted via Bath or Temple Meads.
Diversions could add 40 minutes to passengers’ journeys, it said.
The train operator said passengers could expect further disruption if high levels of rain return.
And Southern revealed that next week on Monday and Wednesday, it will have no services at Wembley Central and Harrow and Wealdstone stations.
TfL also said that if the strike goes ahead, it will look at amending planned engineering work on the District line, which could result in a closure of the Wimbledon branch between Wimbledon and Parsons Green tomorrow.
It has also urged Underground passengers to ‘only travel if their journey is essential’ from this Sunday evening until next Friday.
Transport bosses added that this Sunday evening, lines serving the Emirates Stadium in North London for the Arsenal v Liverpool FA Cup third round match, which kicks off at 4.30pm and will end around 6.30pm, will ‘try to remain open longer’.
They said football fans should make their way straight to the trains following the match because services will start to close from 7.30pm on these lines.
Chaos will begin when engineering and maintenance workers take strike action tomorrow and on Saturday, with no rest-day working or overtime from then until January 12.
Underground control centre as well as power and control members will be taking action over this Sunday and next Monday, and all fleet workers will walk out next Monday.
Signallers and service controller members will take action next Tuesday and next Thursday while all fleet, stations and trains grades will walk out next Wednesday.
Last month, reported how members of the RMT had voted ‘overwhelmingly’ by 90.5 per cent to take industrial action over an ‘unacceptable’ 5 per cent pay offer.
Different parts of the workforce will strike on different days in an attempt to cripple the network without all staff having to walk out and lose pay at the same time.
The RMT hit out at ‘below inflation’ pay rises for staff and claimed TfL had created a bonus pot of £13million for senior managers.
It also pointed out that TfL commissioner Andy Lord had an 11 per cent pay rise in June of £40,000, taking his salary from £355,000 up to £395,000.
The union said it wanted to ‘see full staff travel facilities for all Tube workers restored’ and criticised TfL bosses for ‘freezing pay bands’, warning that it will create a ‘two-tier workforce’.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said Tube workers who help bring ‘vast amounts of value’ to the London economy were ‘not going to put up with senior managers and commissioners raking it in, while they were given modest below inflation offers’.
He added: ‘The refusal of Transport for London to restore staff travel facilities and create a two-tier workforce is also unacceptable.
Closed gates at Harrow-on-the-Hill Underground station during the Tube strike in March 2023
‘Our members have made it clear that they are prepared to take action and we urge TfL to improve their offer to avert disruption in the capital.’
Today, the RMT also called on Mr Khan and TfL ‘ to enter unconditional talks hosted by the conciliation service Acas to avert strike action scheduled for later this week’.
The union said it had been ‘invited to talks with TfL earlier this week after London Underground workers backed rolling strike action by over 90 per cent against a below inflation pay offer’.
A total of 5,334 of 9,723 RMT members took part in the ballot, with 4,827 voting for action and 505 voting against, reported the Evening Standard.
Glynn Barton, TfL’s chief operating Officer, said today: ‘We are disappointed that RMT is planning strike action in response to our offer of a 5 per cent pay increase.
‘We have been clear throughout our productive discussions with our trade unions that this offer is the most we can afford while ensuring that we can operate safely, reliably and sustainably.
‘We encourage the RMT to engage with us to avoid disruption for Londoners. We would like to advise anyone travelling during the strike days to check before they travel.’
Closed entrances to Euston Underground station during a strike in November 2022
And a spokesman for transport watchdog London TravelWatch told : ‘Towards the end of 2023, we saw London Underground journeys reach four million a day, so it’s clear that demand is well and truly back after the pandemic.
‘We know that along with disruption to the tube, there will likely be an impact on Elizabeth line, London Overground and DLR services on each strike day too.
‘If these strikes do go ahead as planned, they will be really disruptive for passengers. This is not the start to the new year Londoners wanted.’
In October last year, the RMT called off two planned weekday Tube strikes following ‘significant progress’ in talks with Underground bosses at conciliation service Acas.