London Workers Told to Stay Home as Tube Strike Disrupts Travel

(Bloomberg) --

Londoners are being advised to work from home on Tuesday and Thursday to avoid disruption caused by strikes on the city's underground rail service. 

The first walkout called by the RMT union is going ahead as planned, after the labor group failed to reach an agreement with Transport for London over changes to pensions and the threat of job cuts. The authority warned there will be “severe disruption” to all lines and stations and that it's highly likely there will be no underground service on either day.

The District, Circle and Jubilee lines were among those not operating on Tuesday.

TfL also advised passengers to travel later in the day on Wednesday and Friday, as the disruption is likely to spill over into the following morning. 

The strike action comes as London's transport authority battles to cut costs to get a longer-term funding agreement from the government. A pension plan awarded to transport workers is under review and TfL is looking to cut between 500 and 600 posts across its subway network, though it says it will do this by not filling empty posts rather than by laying off staff.

Read More: London Underground Gets Emergency Funding Extension Until June

Workers have already embarked on a series of weekend strikes, with walkouts planned overnight on the Central and Victoria lines until June in protest over staffing plans for the night tube. 

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