The strike on Tubelines kicked off to an impressive start for its first 24 hours. There was no Emergency Response Unit, as they were mostly on the picket line! The signals on the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly lines were rock solid too.
The impact of the strike spread as LU staff exercised their right to refuse to work unsafely. Knightsbridge station closed for 45 minutes. The drivers on the Piccadilly Line began to refuse unsafe work on Wednesday evening. By mid-morning on Thursday, Piccadilly line management faked a signal failure and part-suspension on the north end of the line because they did not have enough drivers to run a full service. For the rest of the day, the 'severe delays' reported were indeed severe: 30-40 minute gaps in the service at times!
LU had to climb down and lose face. They started the day smugly asserting they would run a 'full service despite the RMT strike'. By the end of the day, the TfL site admited the RMT strike was causing some disruption and advised customers to check before travelling.
By the end of the day, drivers on the Northern, Hammersmith and City, Victoria, Bakerloo, District, Met and Jubilee lines were refusing to work. On the Northern Line, there were 5-10 minute gaps even in the peak, where there would normally be a train every couple of minutes. There was a similar story on the Jubilee and H&C.
It has been an encouraging show of commitment to safety. It has been inspiring to see workers artificially divided into different companies acting together and as a result, maximising the impact of our action.
It has also been a good example of large numbers of workers refusing to work on health and safety grounds. Tubeworker has long argued that this is the best safeguard when the company is careless about safety. It is also one of the few ways we have of acting alongside a strike in a different company. Refusal to work en masse is not easy to achieve because it relies on individuals taking the initiative to follow the company's procedure. But it has been inspiring to see that so many have felt strongly enough to take this step. It will hopefully be a taste of things to come, as LU pushes more unsafe practices onto us.
As we start the second day, the strike is still solid. There is no Emergency Response Unit once again. Engineering trains, track and signals inspections were once again cancelled last night. We will see the impact and results of the strike as the day goes on ...