Good morning everyone. If you are in London I hope your commute hasn’t been too disrupted due to the tube strike. This is the second time the union has walked out due to dissatisfaction over the night tube scheme due to commence next month. Drivers are not happy with the working standings of the new service. The chief operating officer Steve Griffiths explains the latest offer is a 2% salary increase to night shift workers, an introductory additional £200 per night and a £500 bonus. But this was rejected. “We are recruiting 500 new members of staff specifically to run the night service… No was is being asked to work extra hours”. So what is the problem?!

Tube drivers require a higher skill level than some other transport services, the working conditions are not ideal and the new night hours should require compensation, according to employees.

Is striking the right thing to do? It’s all well and good suspending the tubes to make a point. It defiantly gets everyone’s attention but with no tubes commutators are forced to find other ways of getting around which puts strain on all the other transport services. Extra buses have been put in place making the roads even more congested while over ground train services struggle with over crowding and engineering problems causing delays and some services to be cancelled.

Myself and I am sure many others have had to set off even earlier than usual and fight over crowded trains. My advice is walk where ever possible today and avoid central stations were possible.

Have a good day everyone.