London underground workers set to start week of strike action

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LONDON (Reuters) -London underground workers are to begin a week of rolling strikes on Sunday, action which is set to bring the network to a standstill and cause massive disruption for travellers in the British capital.

Passengers are advised to complete their journeys by 6 p.m. on Sunday (1700 GMT) with almost no “Tube” trains expected to run between Monday and Thursday as staff stage a series of staggered walkouts.

Additionally the Docklands Light Railway, which connects the financial centres of Canary Wharf and the City of London, will not be running on Tuesday and Thursday.

The RMT union said the dispute centred on pay, fatigue management, shift patterns and a reduction in the working week.

“They are not after a king’s ransom, but fatigue and extreme shift rotations are serious issues impacting on our members health and wellbeing,” RMT General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said.

Transport for London, which operates the capital’s public transport network, said the union would only accept a deal which led to a reduction in the working week, with staff typically working 35 hours. It said it had been working hard to resolve the dispute and had offered staff a 3.4% pay rise.

Although TfL said there would be severe disruption, some train services in the capital will be running during the strike.

The Elizabeth Line, which operates trains to Heathrow Airport, and the overground rail network will operate as normal, but some stations will see disruption, and TfL said trains were likely to be extremely busy.

As well as likely disruption for commuters and tourists, the strikes have prompted British rock band Coldplay to reschedule two concerts at Wembley Stadium this week, while U.S. singer Post Malone also postponed his two shows in London until later in the month.

(Reporting by Michael HoldenEditing by Christina Fincher)