Strikes to Hit Piccadilly and Hammersmith & City Lines

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RMT drivers taking 24 hour industrial action on 6-7 December

Drivers on the Piccadilly and Hammersmith & City Lines are planning to strike for 24 hours on the 6 and 7 December. The action by the RMT will run from between 9.30pm on Tuesday 6 December and 9.29pm on Wednesday 7 December.

The union say that there are two separate disputes over a ‘wholesale breakdown’ in industrial relations with London Underground (LU), breaches of procedures and bullying and harassment of staff. 400 drivers will be involved in the action.

On the Piccadilly line there are a number of issues include LU’s Signal Passed at Danger policy, the final say on serviceability of a train and the Attendance at Work Policy.
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The dispute on the Hammersmith and City Line is over what the union claim is a heavy handed and aggressive management and a disregard for agreed policies and procedures. ‎

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said, "This dispute on the Hammersmith and City Line is about the basic issues of protecting working conditions of our members and defending agreements from attempts to drive a coach and horses through them. The management are out of control and the anger at their failure to follow procedures has boiled over.

"This breakdown in industrial relations should never have been allowed to happen and if agreements and processes had been adhered to from the off the package of issues at the heart of the dispute could have been resolved through the joint machinery.

“In the separate dispute involving drivers on the Piccadilly Line, safety is again a major factor and is tied in with the ripping up of policies and procedures and ignoring warnings from staff. Our members have been left exposed and vulnerable and we have no choice but to blow the whistle before lasting damage is done.”

He added that the union remain available for talks.

LU's Steve Griffiths said: "The announcement of strike dates is premature given that we have pre-arranged talks planned at (arbitration service) ACAS tomorrow to discuss the RMT's concerns on the Piccadilly line, and on the Hammersmith & City line we are waiting for the RMT's response to our proposals to end that dispute."

The strike, if it proceeds will take place at the same time as planned industrial action on Southern Rail services.

Planned Southern rail strike dates:
Tuesday 6 December to Thursday 8 December
Thursday 22 December to Saturday 24 December
Saturday 31 December to Monday 2 January

November 24, 2016