Thursday 16 June 2022 05:31 PM Now London's bus drivers threaten to cripple the capital's public transport ... trends now

Union bus drivers could pile on fresh misery for commuters as they too are now threatening walkouts over proposals to cut services in the capital, as Britain braces itself for the biggest rail strikes in a generation next week.

Trade union Unite dangled the threat of industrial action if a resolution over proposals to cut bus routes in London, which they say could result in hundreds of drivers losing their jobs, is not found.

Bus drivers fear loss of overtime and rest day working, which is relied on to boost earnings, said Unite, as it called for guarantees that jobs will not be lost and take-home pay will not fall, or it will prepare for industrial action. 

 TfL published plans on reshaping 78 routes that form part of the central and inner London bus network earlier this month as part of Government-mandated plans to induce significant savings within the operator.

Although the consultation period doesn't end until July 12, meaning any industrial action won't coincide with next week's crippling walkouts, the threat of another round of public transport strikes will give both workers and travel bosses a fresh headache to contend with in the coming months. 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'These cuts are an attempt to make London's bus workers pay the price for the pandemic and we reject them entirely. The option of Unite taking industrial action to protect our members is fully on the table. Bus cuts also always harm those who can least afford to lose the bus service - our poorest communities. The mayor and the London Assembly must firmly reject TfL's plans and stand up to the Westminster government.' 

It comes as rail union leaders accused Grant Shapps of 'bully boy tactics' after he warned they put their jobs at risk by striking next Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday - and Downing Street said there was 'still time' to stop the action.

The Eurostar became the latest operator to cancel trains with a total of 41 axed to and from the Continent between next Tuesday and Saturday – putting breaks to France, Belgium and the Netherlands at risk. The firm said it was seeing 'unprecedented contact levels across phone, email and social channels' after its announcement.

One passenger, Tanja Goossens, tweeted: 'Eurostar, you just cancelled our international train from Paris to London due to a national train strike in the UK. Are you also going to refund us for having to cut our holiday short now?!' 

Gatwick Express trains will also not run on strike days - but there will be limited Southern and Thameslink services running between London Victoria or London Bridge and Brighton, which will call at the airport in West Sussex.

Another social media user, Nadia Holmes, tweeted today: 'Was so happy that I'm missing the Tube/train strike next week because I'm on holiday... then realised how tf [the f***] am I getting home from Stansted on Thursday?' 

Most operators are planning to run some form of skeleton service over the three strike days of Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 7.30am until 6.30pm. But Merseyrail said today that no trains would run over any of its network on those days - nor any buses. The only other operator to cancel all services so far is the Caledonian Sleeper.

Transport Secretary Mr Shapps said workers were carrying out an 'act of self-harm' by walking out, claimed union bosses were driving them to do so 'under false pretences' and said the strikes were 'the last thing' they should do.

Speaking at a train depot in London, he warned striking was pointless because of the new era of working with home in which the railways are 'in a battle' with Zoom, telling workers: 'Don't risk striking yourselves out of a job'.

But Transport Salaried Staffs Association union boss Manuel Cortes replied: 'Bully boy tactics will not wash with our union when the truth is our members are fighting for their jobs, pay and for a safe railway fit for the future.'

And the Unite union warned that strikes could now spread to London's bus network amid its concerns that a consultation on proposals to cut a number of routes in the capital could lead to hundreds of job losses. 

Mr Shapps said this morning: 'These strikes are not only a bid to derail reforms that are critical to the network's future, and designed to inflict damage at the worst possible time, they are also an incredible act of self-harm by the union leadership. Make no mistake, unlike the past 25 years, when rising passenger demand year after year was taken for granted by the industry, today the railway is in a fight.'

But Mr Cortes responded less than two hours later, saying: 'If this Tory government was at all serious about stopping what looks like a summer of discontent on our railways, Shapps would have been clear in his speech that they are prepared to negotiate with us and sister unions. Sadly, and perhaps predictably, what we heard from the Transport Secretary looked very much like threats and intimidation of workers instead of constructive dialogue.'

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch added: 'The threats made by Grant Shapps today to railway workers' livelihoods and their right to strike are disgraceful and will make RMT members even more fiercely determined to win this dispute. Instead of playing to the gallery for his own personal political ambitions, Mr Shapps needs to act like a pragmatic Transport Secretary who is willing to meet with the union and help us reach a negotiated settlement.'

However, Downing Street said there was 'still time' to find a resolution to what it described as an 'entirely self-defeating strike' but ministers would not get directly involved in the talks - and that proposed legislation to enable the use of agency workers on the railways if the industrial action persists would take 'weeks rather than months'.

Meanwhile hospitality chiefs said that the strike will cost the sector £540million over the week amid a 20 per cent drop in sales, hit 'fragile consumer confidence' and could 'deliver a fatal financial blow' to some firms.

And the devastating impact of next week's strikes on London Underground and Overground services has also now emerged, with transport bosses saying customers are 'strongly encouraged not to travel' at certain times.

'Severe disruption or no service' is expected on all Tube lines from the start of next Tuesday until at least 8am on Wednesday due to a strike by the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport) and Unite in a row over jobs and pay.

Transport for London said buses and Docklands Light Railway services will be running during this period, but are likely to be 'extremely busy with queues to board' and some stations could be closed for 'safety reasons'.

Overground and Elizabeth line services will also be hit between next Tuesday and Sunday due to the wider national RMT strike by members at Network Rail and 13 UK rail operators on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

This will also impact all commuter services in and out of the capital run by c2c, Chiltern, Southern, Thameslink, Southeastern, Greater Anglia, Great Northern, South Western and London Northwestern - as well as long-distance lines such as Great Western, LNER, Avanti West Coast, East Midlands, Grand Central and Hull Trains. 

Mr Shapps said that the railway was 'not only competing against other forms of public and private transport', adding: 'It's in a battle with Zoom, Teams and remote working. 

'In case the unions haven't noticed, the world has changed. Many commuters, who three years ago had no alternative but to take the train, today have the option of not travelling at all.'

He continued: 'Many commuters, who three years ago had no alternative but to take the train, today have the option of not travelling at all. 

'Wave them goodbye, and it will endanger the jobs of thousands of rail workers. It's alienating its passengers and the freight customers with long and damaging strikes.'

As hopes fade that the strike will be called off, UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls told MailOnline: 'For a devastated hospitality industry beginning its tentative post-pandemic recovery, the planned strike action couldn't come at a worse time, and might deliver a fatal financial blow to those businesses already struggling to survive.'

There has also been strike action in recent weeks by RMT members working for Churchill, who clean trains and stations in the South East of England. 

Eurostar announced today that it has cancelled up to four services from London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord; five from Paris to London; two from London to Brussels Midi; three from Brussels to London, two from London to Amsterdam Centraal and two from Amsterdam to London on all three strike days of next Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. There will also be one London to Paris and one Paris to London train axed on Wednesday and Friday.

It comes only 48 hours after Eurostar had reassured travellers concerned about the prospect of disruption, telling them on Twitter: 'We are not currently expecting the UK national rail strike to affect the Eurostar trains.'

A Eurostar spokesman said today that all those due to travel on the strike days can exchange their ticket for free regardless of its conditions, adding: 'During the UK national rail strike, Eurostar is cancelling a number of trains to reflect the reduced opening hours of the UK high-speed line. 

'Customers travelling on affected services between the June 21 and 25 are being contacted with the option of a free exchange or cancellation of their journey.'

Mr Shapps also said today: 'Unions claim this strike is about a pay freeze. This is wrong. We are not imposing a pay freeze now Covid is in the past. 

'So, I say to the workforce: 'Your union bosses have driven you to the verge of a national strike under false pretences. And rather than protect your jobs, they are actually threatening your jobs'.'

He also spoke directly to rail staff, saying: 'I appeal directly to rail workers, who I think are less militant than their union leaders. 

'Don't risk striking. Don't risk the industry and your future. Don't risk striking yourselves out of a job. Don't pitch yourselves against the public. Let's fix this situation and get back to building a better railway.'

Mr Shapps also said the Government will 'look at a full range of options' to deal with future strikes, adding: 'If this dispute cannot be resolved, the Government will look at a full range of options to stop the unions from hurting the general public, including repealing the ban on transferable staff filling in for striking workers.

'And passengers will be compensated for the disruption. In addition to existing refund agreements that are already in place, we will ensure season ticket holders will be able to claim full compensation on strike days. Usually compensation is available for delay repay if you couldn't get the train. It can be fiddly. 

'In the case of the strike, we know that there will be people who've got, for example, annual season tickets, that are able to travel on certain days. 

'I've moved to help make that an automatic process for those people in order to do whatever we can to remove the inconvenience for passengers.'

On the use of agency workers, Mr Shapps said: 'There is no single thing that you can do to ameliorate the strikes. Minimum service levels is just another tool. It's not the only thing.

'There is something else which is transferable skills. Transferable skills means that people will be able to come where they have the appropriate level of skills, training and experience, and that is subject to a more straightforward secondary legislation process so that would be very much quicker. 

'If the strike drags on... then transferrable skills, sometimes called agency working, will be something which will become available as well in this particular dispute.'

Also today, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: 'We want the unions to step back from what will be an entirely self-defeating strike, which would not only cause significant disruption to the public and business, but possibly further deter people from using our railways, which the Government thinks should be treasured and enhanced.

'And there is still time for them to come to the negotiating table and agree a solution.'

Asked if the Government would act as a facilitator for talks, the spokesman said: 'Broadly speaking, we remain of the position that it is for the unions to negotiated with their employers rather than the Government stepping in, there's no change in that approach.'

Also today, Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab condemned the strikes as 'irresponsible', casting the Tories as the only party standing up for commuters. 

He told LBC: 'I think the strike action by the RMT union is deeply irresponsible. Of course we need to look again at the structure of our railways. 

'We've provided a huge subsidy to see them through the pandemic and, as working and commuter habits change, of course we've got to look at that sensibly. 

'I want to stand up for commuters and rail passengers. I'm shocked that Labour have been so openly backing the RMT, and, frankly, the Liberal Democrats have been, as usual, lily-livered on the subject, and have not been clear. 

'The only ones that are saying 'This is wrong and we stand up for the public' are the Conservatives.'

TfL said its teams from Santander Cycles will be ensuring hire bicycles are 'distributed at key locations according to demand' and told commuters that 'walking or cycling may be quicker for some journeys' during the action.

They also warned of a reduced service on the Overground and newly-opened Elizabeth line on the days when strike action is planned – Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday – 'due to the national rail strike and its impacts on shared track and assets'. The Overground will run a limited service between 7.30am and 6.30pm on these days. 

On Thursday and Saturday, TfL hopes to operate as much of the Tube as possible because its teams will not be on strike then, but disruption is expected from Queen's Park to Harrow and Wealdstone on the Bakerloo line; on the Richmond and Wimbledon branches of the District line; on the Waterloo and City line; and on the Elizabeth line.

TfL said problems from the national rail strike will continue to affect customers on the mornings when no strike action is planned; those days being next Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

It also urged Tube customers using sections of lines affected by national rail strike action to avoid making journeys until mid-morning on each of these days.

Continued RMT strike action on Night Tube services is also planned on the evenings of next Friday and Saturday, but TfL still hopes to run three trains per hour on the Victoria and Jubilee lines and two per hour on the Central.

Tim Shoveller, chief negotiator for Network Rail, said talks will continue with the RMT later today about the national rail strike, and bosses 'working very creatively to try and find ways of reducing the cost of running the railway'.

He told BBC Radio 4 today: 'We've been talking to the unions for over a year now, so as well as that in parallel recognising that this was always a risk, we have been working hard to put in place contingency arrangements. 

'So we've been working with our managers and our other competent staff who can step into some of those critical roles, and in the last few months that has particularly been a real focus as a contingency measure.

'It's a contingency we hoped we'd never have to use. But nevertheless that is now in place, and next week we'll be able to operate about 50 per cent of the network for a limited period of time using our competent managers.'

TfL's chief operating officer Andy Lord said: 'I want to apologise to customers who will be impacted by the RMT and Unite's strike action next week. 

'The action on June 21, taking place at the same time as the national rail strike, will have a severe impact on the London Underground network, resulting in very little to no service on all lines, which is why we're encouraging people to avoid travel unless completely necessary, as the majority of Tube stations will be closed and services not running.'

'Alternatives to the Tube are likely to be much busier than usual and we expect the severe disruption caused by this strike to continue into the morning of June 22.

'I'm very sorry for the impact this will have on people's journeys.

'This strike is particularly frustrating as it comes so soon after industrial action earlier this month, no changes have been proposed to pensions and nobody has or will lose their job as a result of the proposals we have set out. 

'We're urging the RMT and Unite to call off this strike and to work with us to find a resolution and avoid the huge disruption this action will cause to people's journeys and to our economic recovery.'

TfL said the strike action comes as part of separate disputes with both the RMT, over pensions, jobs and conditions; and with Unite over pay. 

Bosses said this was 'despite the fact no proposals have been tabled on pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs because of the proposals TfL has set out'.

TfL met the RMT and Unite unions at the conciliation service ACAS yesterday morning, saying that 'although no resolution was reached', they are 'keen to take part in further talks in the hope that this strike can be called off'. 

Bosses added that 'pay talks with Unite and other recognised unions in the area are due to start imminently'.

TfL has been forced to speed up its 'pre-pandemic savings programme' because the Government has required it to work towards achieving financial sustainability on operations by April 2023 as part of previous funding agreements.

Bosses have proposed not recruiting into around 500 to 600 posts as they become vacant – including 250 currently unfilled Tube station posts, but insist stations will remain staffed at all times while trains are operating, with more than 4,500 station staff available across the network.

Meanwhile, it is feared Britain's cities could be cut off from one another and NHS patients may put under increased risk if militant left-wing union barons push ahead with a once-in-a-generation set of strikes that will cripple more than half of the country's railway network.

Major towns stretching from Dorset, Cheshire, Wales and Scotland will have no links at all while other parts of the UK will also be affected when half of all services shut down during the walkout of 40,000 RMT union members on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday next week.

Travel on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday will also be badly affected due to the knock-on impacts of the industrial action, while economists have warned their action could cost Britain's stalling economy up to £150million.

Some of the 13 rail operators affected by the action – including Southeastern, TransPennine and Avanti West Coast – urged customers to travel only if necessary as rail chiefs prepared to publish the emergency timetable.

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Sajid Javid blasted Labour leadership's support for the debilitating strikes that could see nurses and doctors have to battle to get into work and patients' routine appointments cancelled.

Louise Quick, who was forced into a £54 ticket change charge when she changed a scan at Great Ormond Street for her nine-month-old son Julian, said the rail strikes were blocking 'vital service' for desperate patients, the Telegraph reported. 

GCSE and A-level pupils who have worked hard all year and are now expecting to sit their crucial end of year exams will also have to endure major disruption, it was warned.

As millions of Britons now face the prospect of having no choice but to work from home for all of next week, the RMT and Unite will also be striking on the Underground next Tuesday in a separate row over jobs and pay. 

Mr Shapps slammed the 'reckless, unnecessary strike' as he vowed to fight back against the hardline left-wing union bosses who plan on crippling the country with modernising reforms of Network Rail.

Writing in The Sun, Mr Shapps insisted he would lead the battle against the RMT's 'dinosaurs' who continue to push 'out of date' working practices that were no longer fit for purpose. 

And economists are already predicting this wave of strikes to cost the UK economy at least £91million, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, proving devastating for the night-time and hospitality industries in particular.

It comes as an industry leader warned militant unions will 'play into the hands' of the work from home culture if they ploughed ahead with plans for the largest rail strikes in a generation.

Tim Shoveller, chief negotiator for Network Rail, said the walkouts could put commuters off the railways just as passenger numbers and revenues were starting to recover from the pandemic.

He said that the action would be 'a reminder of working from home full time and the benefits some people will see from that'.

'It will do us harm,' Mr Shoveller said. 'It's reminding commuters that for some of them, they quite like using Microsoft Teams to work and avoid travelling by train, that doesn't seem like a great plan to me.