Tube drivers represented by the RMT will stage another four days of action across an eight-day window beginning Tuesday May 19, in the second wave of strikes over Transport for London's plan to introduce a compressed four-day working week. Two of the strike days — Tuesday 19 and Thursday 21 — will see 24-hour walkouts starting at midday; on Wednesday 20 and Friday 22 services will be disrupted from the morning, with Tube services running later than usual and returning to normal only in the evening.
All eleven Underground lines will be affected. TfL has warned passengers to expect "severe disruption" and to plan alternative journeys for the whole of the working week. Buses, the Docklands Light Railway, the Elizabeth line, London Overground and the trams will operate to normal timetables but TfL expects them to be heavily loaded.
The dispute stems from the union's rejection of TfL's proposed roster reform, which the operator says will save £40m a year by aligning driver scheduling more closely with passenger demand. The RMT argues the rosters compress working hours into longer shifts that erode safety margins and family time.
This is the second wave of strikes in 2026 after two single-day stoppages in April. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the union remained "open to a fair settlement" but that TfL's current offer "doesn't even pretend to listen." TfL's managing director for the Underground, Andy Lord, said the operator had "moved significantly" since April and accused the union of "manufacturing escalation."
Separately, late-evening closures will affect the Mildmay line and the Windrush line each night through Thursday for routine engineering work, the last weeknight of those works overlapping with the start of the strike week.