Following a dispute over pay, the Rail, Maritime, and Transport union has announced that its London Overground staff will strike at the end of February and the start of March.
Over 300 Overground staff will be on strike, including security, control, station and revenue staff during the four-day strike.
When are the Overground strikes happening?
Overground staff are due to walk out from 00:01 on Monday February 19 until 23:59 on Tuesday February 20, and once again from 00:01 on Monday March 4 until 23:59 on Tuesday March 5.
Why are strikes taking place?
RMT members found Arriva Rail London’s (ARL), which has the London Overground contract, pay rise offer insufficient and were incensed at the “below inflation pay offer”. Despite this, ARL maintains that they offered a “good pay reward”.
On the upcoming Overground strikes, RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch said: “London Overground workers do an important job delivering services for TfL and supporting passengers on journeys throughout London. Our members are furious that they have been given a below inflation pay offer and want to see an improvement that represents the value they bring to the company.”
Steve Best, managing director at Arriva Rail London, has commented: “We are hugely disappointed to hear of the RMT union’s decision to stage industrial action on the London Overground in February and March.
“We believe we have offered a good pay award in comparison not only to our industry, but other industries and businesses in the UK too. We remain committed to engaging with the RMT in the hope of resolving this dispute.”
Could they be called off?
At the start of January, a week of tube strikes set off by an ongoing dispute over pay was set to cause major disruptions to the journeys of Londoners but was called off the night before the strikes were due to hit.
There is always a chance that the RMT and Arriva Rail London can find a resolution much like they did in early January. However, Lynch has remarked that “If this dispute cannot be resolved then RMT is more than prepared for a sustained period of industrial action to get London Overground workers the pay rise they deserve.”