RMT union cancels three strikes on London Underground

 

RMT union cancels three strikes on London Underground

By
Angela Austin

24 December 2018

On December 20, the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT) cancelled three scheduled strikes on London’s Underground (LU).

A 24-hour stoppage on the Central Line, scheduled to start at 8 a.m. the following day in defence of a sacked driver, was called off. A strike on the same line over a “breakdown of industrial relations,” which would have affected services on December 21/22, was also called off. Also cancelled was a strike on the Bakerloo Line, scheduled for Boxing Day (December 26).

The suspended strikes were supported by workers in ballots, expressing a desire to fight worsening working conditions, staff shortages and victimisations. Management has ridden roughshod over rules and procedures, as laid out by the Framework Agreement drawn up following a series of struggles in 1989.

The dispute on the Bakerloo Line is over LU management’s failure to ensure shift coverage in line with previous commitments. The RMT said “significant progress” had been made to allow talks to resume. But no official document describing any progress has been made public by the union.

On the Central Line, workers were to strike in defence of a sacked driver, whose fight for reinstatement stretches over 10 months since his dismissal. The RMT claimed the company “left it up right to the wire before submitting important new evidence into the talks process” and “accuses LU of ten months of mismanagement that provoked disruption and discontent.”

In recent months, Underground workers have been involved in a series of disputes and strikes. The RMT was desperate to avoid a repetition over the holiday period of the 24-hour strike on November 8 by its members and members of the…

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