London’s transport network ground to a halt on Friday as train and bus workers held strikes over pay and conditions, the latest in a summer of labor market disputes as double-digit inflation eats into wages.
All London Underground and Overground train lines were suspended or part suspended and dozens of bus routes in the west of the city were disrupted, Transport for London (TfL) said.
Tens of thousands of workers from the UK national rail network walked out on Thursday and will do so again on Saturday.
Commuters across the country have already endured disruption from rail strikes this year, organized by unions demanding pay and conditions for their members that better reflect the soaring cost of living caused by energy price-driven inflation.
Data showed inflation at 10.1% in July, the highest since February 1982, as rising energy costs resulting from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine hit consumers directly through their household bills, and indirectly through rising food prices.
That has led to a standoff between firms, who say rising costs and falling demand limit their room to negotiate, unions who say their workers cannot afford to live and the government, which is worried that big wage increases may fuel inflation.
