The RMT union has confirmed that around 10,000 London Underground employees are expected to walk out at 00:01 GMT on the 1st and 3rd of March.
The action comes after London Mayor Sadiq Khan launched an independent review in order to reform the TfL pension scheme which he believes could save £100m a year from 2025.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch told the Standard: “Our members will be taking strike action [next week] because a financial crisis at London Underground has been deliberately engineered by the Government to drive a cuts’ agenda which would savage jobs, services, safety and threaten their working conditions and pensions.”
All tube lines are likely to be severely affected by the striking action, as well as other forms of transportation which will strain to accommodate the 2 million Londoners that use the underground daily. The RMT have stated that they are willing to call off the strikes if further talks resolve the dispute.
Many have criticised the action as Transport for London and other businesses are still recovering from the pandemic. TfL chief operating officer Andy Lord stated:
“It is extremely disappointing that the RMT has today announced strike action, as no proposals have been tabled on pensions or terms and conditions, and nobody has or will lose their jobs as a result of the proposals we have set out.
“The devastating impact of the pandemic on TfL finances has made a programme of change urgently necessary and we need the RMT to work with us, rather than disrupting London’s recovery. We’re urging them to do the right thing for London, talk to us and call off this unnecessary action.”