The RMT union has called eight 24-hour strikes by London Underground drivers between 26 November and 25 February. Each one runs from noon to noon, so it takes out a whole night. Two fall in the last week before Christmas.
What has happened
The RMT announced it on 6 November. The strikes start on Thursday 26 November; Thursday 17 and Saturday 19 December; Monday 4 and Wednesday 6 January; and Wednesday 17, Tuesday 23 and Thursday 25 February. HuffPost UK and Time Out confirm the dates.
The union rejects the "voluntary four-day week" put forward by management under a new Trains Modernisation Framework. It says the plan strips drivers of protections and warns of hundreds of job cuts, citing the rosters published for the Bakerloo line. Its general secretary, Eddie Dempsey: "London Underground is attempting to dress up a wholesale attack on drivers' working conditions as a voluntary four-day week". Nick Dent, London Underground's chief customer and operations officer, replies in HuffPost UK that "drivers can now choose to remain on a five-day week with a guarantee of remaining at the same depot". ASLEF, the other drivers' union, does not appear to be joining in, according to HuffPost UK: its Tube organiser, Finn Brennan, calls it "a strange choice to make".
On that timetable, the strike on Thursday 17 covers the night from Thursday into Friday 18. The one on Saturday 19 lasts until noon on Sunday 20: it takes out the night of the last Saturday before Christmas. According to Time Out, the Elizabeth line, the Overground and the DLR are not part of the Tube and are expected to keep running.
The NTIA responded on 9 November: the strikes land in the "Golden Quarter", when many venues rely on the festive season to get through the quieter months, and after a Budget the association considers inadequate. It calls on the RMT and Transport for London to reach a deal beforehand. Michael Kill, its chief executive: "Further transport disruption risks devastating footfall, triggering cancellations". According to the NTIA and NIQ monitor published in September, Great Britain has 36.1% fewer nightclubs than in March 2020.