London Underground traffic is expected to be severely disrupted, if at all, from the end of the afternoon on Sunday January 7, until Thursday inclusive, due to a strike called by the transport union, which is demanding salary increases.
Transport for London (TfL), the network operator, recommends that travelers complete their journey on the “Tube” before 5:30 p.m. (6:30 p.m. Paris time), due to the planned end of the service earlier. than normal, this Sunday. “Serious disruption” is expected from Monday to Thursday, with little to no traffic expected. A return to normal is expected by midday on Friday.
“TfL failed to avoid this strike by not proposing an acceptable offer for London Underground employees,” laments a spokesperson for the RMT union in a press release, explaining that it does not strike “lightly”.
According to the organization, nearly 10,000 of its members are taking part in the strike, which began on Friday for certain categories of staff.
Cost of living crisis
In the grip of a severe cost of living crisis, the United Kingdom has been faced with numerous strikes in recent months in several sectors, including health, transport and education.
The purchasing power of the British was hit hard by a sharp surge in inflation during the summer, and a shock in interest rates, rising from 0.1% to 5.25%. The burden of taxes is, moreover, at its highest level since the Second World War, while public services are failing everywhere. Taxation, which weighed 33% of GDP until 2019, a relatively stable level for thirty years, has now increased to just over 36%.
The Prime Minister, the Conservative Rishi Sunak, and his Labor rival Keir Starmer launched the election year in the United Kingdom on Thursday, with legislative elections which will probably be held in the second half of the year and could see Labor make its comeback to Downing Street.