Yesterday, unions rejected London Underground’s “final” pay deal that included a 2% rise this year and £2,000 extra pay for drivers on the weekend night Tube service due to launch on September 12th.
The LU strike begins today at 18:00 and will last throughout tomorrow with some services possibly affected on Friday.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite plan to begin their strike at 18:30.
Around 20,000 Tube workers are expected to participate in the walkout.
Transport for London (TfL) said extra buses, river boats and Santander Cycles would be provided to assist commuters during the strike but have advised roads and public transport would be “much busier than usual.”
London Overground, tram and DLR services will run as usual.
Mike Brown, the Managing Director of London Underground, claimed unions had not responded to a “fair and reasonable” offer.
He added: “All we have heard is a series of speeches from trade union leaders, condemning us for communicating with our staff. The offer is still there and we are available to talk about it. I am amazed we have had no response.”
However RMT General Secretary Mike Cash argued: “Despite strenuous efforts by union negotiators to press London Underground to address the issues of fairness, safety, work/life balance and equality at the heart of this dispute, they have come up with nothing in the talks this afternoon.
“The action is on and RMT will be mobilising picket lines and effective action with our sister unions and there are no further talks planned at this stage.”