Londoners brace for travel disruption as Tube strike begins

LONDON – London’s commuters are set to face significant travel disruption as workers on the UK capital’s underground network start a seven-day strike.

Walkouts will begin on Sept 5 at 6pm (1am Singapore time) at Ruislip, west London, where depot operational control managers go on strike.

But the worst of the disruption is due to start on Sept 8 when all fleet workers across the network walk out. The Elizabeth Line and the Overground will operate as normal.

Staff are protesting over pay and working conditions. A proposal to reduce the contractual 35-hour week “is neither practical nor affordable”, Transport for London previously said. London Underground’s offer included a 3.4 per cent pay rise for workers. 

The walkouts highlight the

ongoing strain in Britain’s labour relations

as inflation, wage disputes and cost-of-living pressures persist.

It comes shortly after many workers return from summer holidays and as the economy struggles to regain momentum.

The strike could cost the economy about £230 million (S$398.9 million), according to estimates by the Centre for Economics and Business Research. 

“That cost figure is fairly conservative,” said Mr Pushpin Singh, managing economist at CEBR, who added that it only captures the direct losses from striking staff and commuters unable to reach workplaces and not wider impacts such as lost productivity and reduced consumer spending.

Retailers and hospitality venues in central London are expected to suffer the most, with shops, bars and restaurants bracing for a drop in footfall and weaker sales.

Still, many city professionals can work from home these days, reducing the impact of strikes. 

The latest Tube stoppage follows a wave of industrial action over the past year, with resident doctors striking in July. BLOOMBERG