London’s Underground is braced for further strikes after workers voted for a fresh mandate to authorize industrial action until late November.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers has been in dispute with Transport for London for nearly a year over jobs, budget cuts, changes to pensions and general working conditions.
“TfL cannot continue to simply wish this dispute away, and the government, which has drastically cut the funding to London transport budgets, shares a great deal of responsibility for this continuing impasse,” RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said in a statement.
The union is also negotiating with railway operators for train staff around the country, with strikes set to disrupt travel this summer.
The labor group has accused TfL of planning to cut 600 jobs at London stations, and argued that workers could lose more than 30% of their pensions under a planned overhaul.
The UK has suffered a year of widespread strikes as workers protest across sectors such as postal delivery, the civil service, schools, universities and hospitals, as well as public transport.
