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Commuters face day of disruption amid subway strike

The walkout which began from 18-30 BST on Wednesday forced millions of Londoners to run for alternate services such as ferries and buses.

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Members of four unions are taking industrial action for the second time in a month because of a deadlocked dispute over plans to launch a new all-night service next month.

He claimed the reason he had given a false name was because London Underground bans its employees from making public comments on strike action.

London Underground say no staff will be expected to work longer hours or more weekends.

Commuters faced 200 miles of traffic jams and huge queues for buses as the they battled to get to work with London’s entire Tube network shut down for the day.

One official from the RMT union told BBC London that members would “escalate action” in the run-up to the scheduled start of the night service on September 12. You may not be surprised that reading or listening to music are the most popular activities, but did you know that 2.7 per cent of commuters bring out their knitting every time they get on the Tube? “More people really kicking off today than last time”. It is with those who have botched the introduction of Night Tube and who are trying to plug staffing gaps by wrecking any chance of a decent work/life balance for our members.

“We have made a very fair offer to the unions that includes pay rises and bonuses for all, and guarantees to protect work-life balance”.

He rejected suggestions that the night Tube was a populist measure that would only benefit partygoers, saying it was also aimed at the city’s many shift workers who must now endure lengthy journeys by bus.

Mick Whelan, general secretary of drivers union Aslef, said: “We are not against the Night Tube if it’s run in a reasonable and adequate manner”.

While the task of piloting a 125-mile-an-hour Pendolino between slower passenger and freight services or guiding a commuter train through Europe’s busiest rail hub at Clapham Junction remains significant, Johnson has indicated he regards drivers as rather less key to the Tube – ordering a batch of fully-automatic trains that could dispense with their services altogether next decade.

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But Steve Griffiths, LU’s chief operating officer, has stressed that all workers will still get two days off in every seven, and will have ample opportunity to swap shifts with colleagues if they so wish.

Reuters