Strikes on the Underground have redrawn the mental map of Londoners – work

It is mid-June and the huge newspaper office in central London is empty and desolate. Even the security personnel couldn’t get to work today as the main entrance is closed.

Taking the back way through a series of shady passages, I finally managed to find my desk in The Guardian’s newsroom, where I work for two summer months.

I walked to work today. Like any temporary or permanent person in London, I quickly learned an infallible truth: the city could come to a complete halt at any time. The reason is the subway strike.

The London Underground, the world’s first and largest, is one of the workplaces hardest hit by strikes in Britain.

The London Underground, the world’s first and largest, is one of the workplaces hardest hit by strikes in Britain. And when the subway is at a standstill, chaos quickly builds up.

The sweaty double decker buses fill up to capacity in no time. At the same time, traffic becomes a sticky mush for everyone who pulled out the car to try to get to work. Groups of lost tourists fill the streets and mix with people trying to get to work or home on foot.

A few years ago, a group of researchers concluded that strikes were so frequent that they made society more efficient. When Londoners were forced to try alternative travel routes, every twenty years old discovered that the new route was better and stuck with it when the strike was over.

The conflict, as usual, is about wages, working conditions and pensions. London’s Underground needs to scale back after ticket revenue plummets. They are also under pressure from the government to become more efficient in order to obtain state support. The RMT Syndicate disagrees and points out, among other things, rampant inflation.

At the same time, the tones are harsh. Liz Truss, who in a few months will become the shortest-lived British prime minister ever, is threatening laws to make striking more difficult, describing the situation as “extortion by militant unions”.

Like an open artery in a dead end, the Elizabeth Line has since carried travelers through the city during the days of the strike. At least for now.

I discuss strikes with a new acquaintance during a picnic on the banks of the Thames a few days later. She talks about the legendary new Underground line that just opened: the Elizabeth Line, named after the Queen. They are operated under contract by a private company and are therefore not covered by strikes.

Like an open artery in a dead end, the Elizabeth Line has since carried travelers through the city during the days of the strike. At least for now.

While waiting for the subway in snowy Stockholm, I read the headline on my mobile phone.

“Union threatens first strike on Elizabeth line after dispute over wages.”