The RMT union has advised members of other unions to travel on the London Underground during its strike days, contrary to typical solidarity practices. In an exchange on X, the PCS Union’s Whitehall branch asked whether it should tell its members to avoid the Tube to avoid crossing picket lines. The RMT responded: “Hi, no, please travel as you can and if you see a picket line then give us a wave.”
An RMT spokesman later clarified: “At no point has the union encouraged people to use the network to undermine industrial action. We understand strike action is disruptive and Londoners will travel as they can. But we encourage them to support our picket lines and our members taking strike action.”
The strikes, which took place on Tuesday and Thursday this week, are over a dispute about a four-day week for Tube drivers earning around £74,000 a year. On Tuesday, six in ten drivers turned up for work, up from 57% during April's industrial action. Just over half of Tube drivers are members of the Aslef union, but more RMT drivers are believed to have worked in the latest strikes compared to April.
Transport for London insists the four-day week will be voluntary, and Aslef has backed the reforms, describing them as offering the “biggest improvement in working conditions for Underground train drivers in decades.” Aslef says the changes would give drivers an extra 35 days away from work per year, reduce average weekly rostered hours from 36 to 34, and allow voluntary overtime at time and a quarter.
The RMT has rejected the proposals, branding them a “fake” four-day week and raising concerns about driver fatigue, late notice of shifts, and the rollout of work iPads. One union rep complained the iPads were “too small to watch Netflix on,” though it is unclear which union the rep belonged to. Talks at Acas failed to resolve the dispute before the strikes.
