Night Tube services on the Central and Victoria lines this weekend are set to be disrupted again by planned RMT strike action.
Both the Central and Victoria Lines could be severely disrupted from 19:00 onwards on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 December, with further strike action to follow on Night Tube services on both lines on Friday 17 December.
A 24-hour strike is also planned for the Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly, and Victoria Lines from 04:30 on the last Saturday before Christmas,18 December.
The RMT's planned strike action is as follows:
Central & Victoria Lines
- 20:30 Friday to 04:29 Saturday 10/11, 17/18 December
Central, Jubilee, Northern, Piccadilly & Victoria Lines
- 04:30 Saturday, 18 December to 04:29 Sunday, 19 December
The RMT is taking this action over new rosters, even though they have been agreed by the other recognised union and were introduced for Tube drivers in August.
Talks between TfL and the RMT have been ongoing for months, and TfL remains open to further talks in the hope that strike action can be called off.
Further information will be available ahead of, and during, the strikes at http://tfl.gov.uk/tube-strike as well as on the TfL Go app, TfL website, and Journey Planner.
Night Tube services on the Jubilee, Northern, and Piccadilly Lines will return to service as soon as possible despite there being resourcing issues on these lines. Also, there are other considerations such as the upcoming closure of the Northern line's Bank branch as work continues to complete the upgrade at Bank Tube station.
This strike action has been called despite the new rosters providing :
- assurances that there will be no job cuts;
- certainty and the option of permanent work for those on part-time contracts;
- assurance that Tube drivers will only be rostered to work up to four night-shift weekends per year – shifts which they can swap with colleagues for duties at other times of day if that works better for them.
Night Tube drivers were offered the chance to join the full-time driver pool on a permanent basis, with Night Tube duties spread across all drivers. Some have continued to work part-time at their own request, whilst some others have moved to part-time positions during the day service to help balance their own work and personal lives. No Tube driver has or will lose their job as a result of these changes, nor has any driver been forced to switch to part- or full-time work if they do not want to.
Although Night Tube services were re-introduced on the Central and Victoria Lines on the evening of Saturday, 27 November, the impact of the strike action will depend on the number of drivers booking on each weekend.
Train drivers are the only members of TfL staff who are taking strike action. Stations will remain fully staffed throughout the action, and plainclothes and uniformed British Transport Police will also be patrolling the network to ensure staff and customer safety.
Nick Dent, London Underground's Director of Customer Operations, said: “I apologise to customers who may experience another weekend of disruption because of RMT action on the Central and Victoria lines. We know this is the last thing London needs at the moment as it tries to recover from the pandemic. We've been speaking to the RMT for some months about this dispute, and have guaranteed there will be no job losses and anyone who wants to stay part-time has been able to. Tube drivers will be rostered to work up to four night shift weekends every year, which they'll be able to swap with colleagues as they wish, which we think is reasonable. I'm urging customers to check before they travel and consider using buses where possible.”
Night services on London Overground will be restored between Highbury & Islington and New Cross Gate on Friday and Saturday nights from next Friday, 17 December 2021. No strike action is planned to disrupt Night Overground's return.
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