Tube Strike Off

After Bob Crow's fighting talk, there's been an agreement and the current 72 hour strike by the RMT has been called off (well at least this round). Nine hours of discussions which finished at 11pm last night led to the clarified assurances the RMT were looking for.

The BBC report that "Although strike action has now been suspended, TfL warn that commuters will still face delays on Wednesday morning..... Union officials will meet again on Friday before deciding whether to press ahead with a second 72-hour strike next Monday.."

A TfL spokesperson said "We are pleased the RMT has suspended its strike action at Metronet following the clarification of all jobs and pensions issues. We will now work to provide the best possible Tube service on Wednesday."

However, it's best to check the Tube's website for the very latest to see how the ten lines that were affected will get back to normal.


Bob Crow was in fighting form at a demonstration outside the Department of Transport yesterday.

He said: "We said we will strike three days this week and three days next week. We are only 24 hours into the strike and already it is causing massive disruption. Let us see what Metronet have to say when we meet them. If they do not meet our demands then further action is likely. We will carry on as long as it takes."


As he continued The Evening Standard must have been positively salivating:

"We recognise we are causing massive disruption but our responsibility is to our members. Our apologies are real, these are not crocodile tears we are shedding. But we have two options: either we roll over and cave in or we fight it.

"I do not believe the public is against us. I think a very significant number of passengers support what we are doing. You only have to talk to people to find that out." Mmmmmm, what people?

Crisis negotiations resumed yesterday and led to a resolution of the London Underground strike which had been due to continue until 6pm on Thursday evening.


Definitely bookmark the Tube Refund page - apparently the Customer Charter which offers a refund if your journey is delayed by more than 15 minutes has different rules for delays caused by industrial action. But TfL said "A relevant form will be posted shortly" - let's hope the site's servers hold up to the demand.