TfL Tube strike: Central and Waterloo & City line walkout ON tomorrow as last-ditch talks fail

Piccadilly line strike also set to go ahead with 'remote chance' it could be called off at last minute
Nick Charity6 November 2018

A Tube strike on the Central and Waterloo & City lines will go ahead after last-ditch talks failed.

The walkout by drivers from the Aslef union will go ahead for 24 hours from midnight tonight.

Tube workers from the RMT union are set to stage a separate 24-hour strike on the Piccadilly line from 1.30pm on Wednesday but there is still a chance it could be called off.

London Underground said both the RMT and Aslef unions were demanding that two drivers were reinstated on the Central line - one who deliberately opened the doors of a train in a tunnel and one who failed a drugs test.

Aslef said it was in discussions with the Hammersmith & City and Northern line branches over balloting for further strike action if the dispute was not resolved.

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Hundreds of thousands of Tube commuters face travel chaos as they battle to get to and from work on Wednesday. Stations including Stratford, Finsbury Park, Liverpool Street, Oxford Circus and Notting Hill Gate are expected to be extremely busy.

Transport for London has asked those who are using the Piccadilly line tomorrow to complete journeys by 1.30pm.

Nigel Holness, Director of Network Operations for London Underground, said: “The strike action called by both RMT and Aslef on November 7 is totally unjustifiable. Both are demanding the reinstatement of Central line drivers sacked over serious safety breaches – one who deliberately opened the doors of a train in a tunnel, and one who failed a drugs test.

Crowds at Liverpool Street station during a walkout in October
Alex Lentati

"We always strive to run a reliable service for our customers but our commitment to the safety of both customers and staff is absolute and something we will never compromise on. I urge the unions to call off this entirely unnecessary strike action which will only cause disruption to our customers.”

Positive talks with the RMT on Monday in the Piccadilly line dispute showed a "remote chance" that the strike action could be called off but Aslef apparently refused an invitation to meet for talks in the dispute with the team of Central line and Waterloo & City drivers, according to TfL.

An Aslef spokesman said: "In the four weeks since our solid strike on October 5, management have made no new proposals and no further talks have been arranged.

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"Aslef have kept in contact with ACAS and made it clear that we are ready to discuss the issues in dispute at any time, but senior management seem to hope that our members will simply give up if they refuse to budge. Next Wednesday they will find out just how wrong they are!

"With a strike action also due to take place on the Piccadilly line, management’s pig-headed intransigence will mean major disruption on the Underground next Wednesday. But the issues underlying this dispute, fair treatment at work and complying with agreements, aren’t just confined to a couple of areas. The Aslef executive committee is to discuss resolutions from our branches on the Hammersmith & City and Northern lines asking to be balloted for action with other branches set to follow."

Both unions are striking over a general breakdown in industrial relations but London Underground said negotiations have found "a broad common ground" on all original areas of disagreement apart from the reinstatement of the two Central line drivers.

Aslef spokesman Keith Richmond confirmed the issue of a driving being reinstated was "at the heart of" the breakdown in talks.

"It's not the only but it's at the heart of it, yes," he said.

Geoff Martin of the RMT confirmed that the planned strike action on the Piccadilly line still to go ahead but there is an opportunity for union bosses to change their minds at an executive meeting today.

He added: "These are two separate disputes from different teams - there has been no agreement with the company.

"There's a broad issue around a breakdown in industrial relations, and at the moment there is no agreement."

Geoff Martin of RMT confirmed that the planned strike action is still to go ahead, but there is an opportunity for union bosses to change their minds at an executive meeting today.

He added: "These are two separate disputes from different teams. There's a broad issue around a breakdown in industrial relations, and at the moment there is no agreement with the company."

He could not say how likely it was the strike would be cancelled.

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