(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)
Union bosses are pressing ahead with the longest Tube strike in history in the face of widespread opposition from Londoners, a new poll reveals.
Fifty per cent of adults in London are against the industrial action, according to the survey by YouGov. Of that number, 30 per cent said they strongly oppose the strikes.
The poll also found that 28 per cent of Londoners supported the move but that only nine per cent strongly supported the action.
Unless a deal can be agreed between the union and Transport for London, RMT Tube drivers on the Victoria and Central lines will walk out from 8.30pm each Friday and Saturday night, until 4.29am the following morning for the next six months. The next round of industrial action is due to start on Friday and end on Sunday morning.
The strike has been criticised by business chiefs for holding back the capital’s economic recovery as it tries to bounce back from the pandemic.
Richard Burge, Chief Executive of London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, called the RMT “obstructive and selfish” and implored the union to “put their shoulder to the wheel and show solidarity with businesses and Londoners”.
Muniya Barua, Managing Director for Strategy and Policy at business campaign group London First, urged the two sides to “get back round the table quickly”.
She added: “Londoners depend on a regular underground service and for many the Night Tube is a lifeline, not just a Tube line. This action will have major consequences for the economic recovery at the very point that commuters will be returning to their offices.”
Kate Nichols, Chief Executive of UKHospitality, said the Night Tube was vital to pubs, restaurants and nightclubs which had already been hammered by the pandemic and a series of Covid lockdowns.
“A strike would jeopardise hospitality business, jobs, livelihoods and peoples’ safety. The Tube is crucial for safely transporting staff and customers - often women and vulnerable people late at night - to and from venues.
“Hospitality has suffered two disastrous years of closure and low trading but will be key to London’s recovery. The last thing London needs is new setbacks like this.”
The RMT, which initiated the action in the run-up to Christmas in protest at rotas which will require all Tube drivers to work four night shifts a year, insists it acted to protect safety standards and its members’ work-life balance.
Connor Ibbetson from YouGov: “As we emerge from Covid, more and more Londoners are likely to start making the night tube a part of their lives again. These results show that while half of people in the capital oppose the strike, a notable number back it.
“While Conservative-voting Londoners are much more likely to be against this industrial action, it is a more balanced equation among both Labour and Lib Dem supporters.”
The Night Tube, which used to operate on five lines, was closed by TfL after the pandemic struck in March 2020. It returned on just two lines - the Central and Victoria lines - on November 27.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan came under pressure in the autumn to restart the night tube in the wake of concerns over women’s safety following the murders of Sabina Nessa and Sarah Everard.
However the YouGov poll shows greater opposition to the night Tube strike among men, with 54 per cent saying they are against the action, compared to 47 per cent of women.
Perhaps surprisingly the age group most opposed to the industrial action was the over 65s with 62 per cent saying they were against the strikes. By contrast only 42 per cent of those aged 18-24 were opposed while 48 per cent of 25-49 year olds were against the action.
Both TfL and the RMT say they remained open to talks to try and bring the strikes to an early end but one official said the negotiations had reached a “bit of a stalemate”.
A spokesperson for TfL said: “We completely understand how frustrating the RMT’s six months of planned disruption is for our customers.
“Despite the action, we’re running a good Night Tube service on the Victoria line and a regular service on the Central line, with at least two trains per hour through central London.”
RMT general Secretary Mick Lynch said: “Naturally Londoners don’t want strikes on their Tube services and nor do we. We have offered suspensions of action and resolution to the dispute but LU Management have rejected them time and again..
“Our members voted for this action in defence of agreements, for a work/life balance and for safe working conditions by an overwhelming majority.
“It is now time for Mayor Khan to instruct his management team to get on with resolving it and we remain available for discussions.”
