At 6.30pm on Tuesday 25 August, the shuttered gates of the London Underground will be drawn shut as union workers begin four days of strike action.
George Osborne isn't too happy about it. Calling on unions to abandon the strikes over the disputed Night Tube plans, he described the latest walkout as "an assault on hardworking Londoners".
In the eyes of the Chancellor, the real losers of the unions' attempts to delay the Night Tube plans are London's 190,000 night shift workers.
Related: Everything you need to know about this week's tube strike
"That’s thousands of Londoners working long, demanding hours in often lower-paid jobs and it is these people who will benefit most from the Mayor of London’s plans for a 24-hour Tube service," said Osborne. "The strikes this week are a fundamental assault on the rights of working people to get to work and provide for their families. Militant trade union bosses may be allowed to take over the Labour Party; but they’re not going to be allowed to go on paralysing the country", apparently confusing London for the entire nation of England.
But according to Mick Cash, general secretary of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), the strikes aren't in opposition to running a night service.
RMT has never been opposed to night running
ShortList.com asked Cash to respond to Osborne's comments:
"RMT has never been opposed to night running on London Underground,"
"Our dispute is over the crucial issue of robust staffing arrangements that don’t leave this important service expansion being operated by fatigued and burnt out workers hauled in to work additional nights at the drop of a hat."
While Osborne believes unions such as RMT are acting against the interests of "hardworking Londoners", Cash believes that the existing Night Tube plans will see the London Underground Staff burn out.
Where do your sympathies lie? Let us know below.
(Images: Rex)
