London tube drivers launch second 24-hour strike over four-day week dispute

Commuters in London face another two days of disruption as a second 24-hour tube strike starts from midday on Thursday. No further talks have taken place to settle the dispute and drivers in the RMT union will continue industrial action against London Underground plans for a voluntary four-day week after the first 24-hour strike from midday on Tuesday. Services were reduced but not cancelled across most underground lines. Just over half of the capital's tube drivers are members of the Aslef union, which has welcomed the four-day week plan, and were not on strike. Early starters had to find alternative transport with services running only from 7.30am on Wednesday, as Transport for London (TfL) tried to limit overall disruption. Wider congestion and disruption appeared far lower than in last September's strikes by all RMT workers, with some companies in the capital relaxing rules to allow more working from home, and fine weather encouraging people to switch to cycling or walking. Some passengers reported quieter trains than usual on lines where services operated well and commuters had not risked the tube, although most still faced long waits and crowded trains. Santander bike hires were up 60% on Tuesday morning, TfL said, while Voi, one of the operators of e-scooter and ebike rentals in London, said rides were 52% higher than last week, with significant numbers of new users. TfL said passengers should continue to check before travelling on Thursday, with services set to be reduced across all lines from midday and finishing by 8pm. On Friday morning the first trains will start from 7.30am. Most of the Piccadilly, Waterloo & City and Circle lines are expected to have no service during strike hours, along with parts of the Metropolitan and Central lines. Other rail services will run, including the London Overground, Elizabeth line and the DLR. While Aslef and TfL have expressed surprise at the strike action, the RMT said its drivers had concerns about fatigue, and blamed TfL for failing to negotiate. TfL said its proposals for a four-day working week would bring London Underground in line with the working patterns of other train operating companies, and that drivers who wished to continue a five-day working week pattern would be able to do so. An RMT spokesperson said the union objected to an "imposed, fake four-day week" and had raised "serious concerns from our members about shift length and resulting fatigue impacting safety". They added: "The strikes are going ahead because TfL said they would negotiate on all elements of the proposal and then U-turned, saying to us they would go ahead without any changes to their original proposals. "We have sought assurances from TfL in writing that our members can stay on their current shift patterns and agreed terms and conditions. TfL have yet to respond to us adequately. So it is therefore not a voluntary scheme and TfL are seeking to impose it on our members." However Nick Dent, the director of customer operations for London Underground, said the "changes would be voluntary, there would be no reduction in contractual hours and those who wish to continue a five-day working week pattern would be able to do so". He added: "We urge the RMT to call off this strike, meet with us and avoid any further disruption to Londoners. While we have been able to run more services than planned over the last 24 hours, we expect significant disruption to continue into Friday and the level of service we can provide will vary across lines, so customers should continue to check before they travel for the remainder of this week." The RMT is planning four more 24-hour strikes in May and June unless the dispute is resolved.