When are the London Tube strikes next week, and could they be called off?

Londoners face the prospect of almost a week of travel hell as London Underground workers go on strike after last-ditch talks to resolve a pay dispute failed.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union announced on Friday evening that Transport for London (TfL) had “failed to come up with a proposal that was acceptable to the London Underground workforce” and so industrial action would go ahead.

It means a series of walkouts by different sections of the London Underground workforce which TfL has said will bring “severe disruption” to the Tube network with “little or no service” expected between the evening of Sunday, 7 January and the morning of Friday, 12 January.

However, a remote hope remains of an eleventh-hour reprieve for travellers as has happened in the past.

When are the London Tube strikes?

The first part of the industrial action began on Friday at 6pm when maintenance train workers at Ruislip Depot walked out for 24 hours.

But the rest of the strikes are set to start on the morning Sunday, 7 January through to the evening of Thursday, 11 January, with some impact on services on Friday, 12 January.

The RMT has outlined the which days will be affected by the action and which staff will be participating:

• Friday 5th January 6pm to Saturday 6th January 5.59pm – maintenance train workers at Ruislip Depot
• Sunday 7th Jan 12.01am to Monday 8th January 11.59pm – LU Control Centre, Track Access Control and Power Control
• Monday 8th January 12.01am to Wednesday 10th January 11.59pm – Station Staff and Train Operators
• Tuesday 9th January 12.01am hours to Thursday 11th January 11.59pm – Service Controllers, Signallers and Line Information

According to TfL, this is how and when it will affect services:

• Sunday 7 January: Tube services will close earlier than normal. Customers are advised to complete Tube journeys by 5.30pm.
• Monday 8 to Thursday 11 January: Severe disruption is expected, with little to no service expected to run.
• Friday 12 January: Tube services will start later than normal, with a good service expected by about midday.

All underground lines are expected to be affected by the industrial action.

However, London Overground, DLR, London Trams, the Elizabeth Line and London buses are scheduled to operate as normal.

But TfL warned they may be subject to last-minute changes and will be much busier than usual.

Could they be called off?

TfL said on Wednesday it had been “engaging constructively” with the RMT and other trade unions over a pay increase for London Underground staff and made a full and final offer of a 5 per cent increase, which Aslef members have accepted.

Glynn Barton, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, said at the time: ”We are disappointed that RMT is planning strike action in response to our offer of a five per cent pay increase.

“We have been clear throughout our productive discussions with our trade unions that this offer is the most we can afford while ensuring that we can operate safely, reliably and sustainably.

“We encourage the RMT to engage with us to avoid disruption for Londoners.

“We would like to advise anyone travelling during the strike days to check before they travel.”

However, the RMT said on Friday evening that despite direct talks with TfL “tube bosses failed to come up with a proposal that was acceptable to the London Underground workforce”.

An RMT spokesperson said: “TfL has failed to avert this strike by not offering a deal that was acceptable to our members on London Underground.

“We do not take strike action lightly but we are determined to get a negotiated settlement on pay, travel facilities and a grading structure that means our members will not lose out.”

It remains unclear if talks are ongoing between the RMT and TfL over the weekend in a bid to avoid industrial action.

How late can the strikes be called off?

There has been a precedent set previously for strikes on the London Underground network to be called off at the last-minute.

A two-day walkout by Tube workers, who were members of the RMT union, from 4- 6 October last year was cancelled the day before it was due to go ahead.

And in July last year, a week of strikes by three unions – the RMT, Aslef and Unite – was called off on the Friday, 21 July before the Sunday, 23 July start date.