London Tube strikes

London Underground drivers are set to strike from noon on Tuesday, April 21, and again from noon on Thursday, April 23. (tfl.gov.uk) Transport for London said each walkout will last 24 hours, from 12:00 midday to 12:00 midday the next day, and warned disruption will continue into the afternoons and evenings of the strike days. (tfl.gov.uk) TfL said passengers should expect “significant disruption” across Tuesday, April 21, to Friday, April 24, and The Standard reported no service is expected on the Piccadilly and Circle lines during the stoppages. (tfl.gov.uk, standard.co.uk) The dispute is about working patterns, not pay. The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said London Underground is imposing a compressed four-day working week for drivers. (rmt.org.uk) RMT announced six 24-hour strikes on March 10, covering two dates in March, two in April and two in May. The March action was suspended on March 18 after what the union called progress in talks. (rmt.org.uk, rmt.org.uk) That pause did not hold. On April 18, RMT said TfL had made next week’s action “inevitable” by reneging on promises to negotiate in good faith. (rmt.org.uk) TfL has rejected the union’s account and said dialogue is ongoing. In a press release on April 16, the transport authority said it was “working hard to resolve the dispute” and would run as many services as possible if the strikes go ahead. (tfl.gov.uk) The April stoppages are also not the end of the calendar. TfL’s strikes page lists further planned Tube drivers’ strikes for May 19-20, May 21-22, June 16-17 and June 18-19. (tfl.gov.uk) For London commuters, the practical point is timing: these are midday-to-midday strikes with a one-day gap, so the disruption is expected to stretch across four straight weekdays even though there are only two formal walkouts. (tfl.gov.uk, standard.co.uk)