London Underground drivers will stage eight rolling 24-hour strikes from 26 November 2026 through 25 February 2027, beginning on Thursday 26 November, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) announced. The programme follows unionised drivers’ opposition to a Transport for London (TfL) proposal to compress a five-day working week into four days.

TfL describes the arrangement as voluntary, allowing drivers to opt in to work four days instead of five. RMT chief Eddie Dempsey said: “London Underground is attempting to dress up a wholesale attack on drivers’ working conditions as a voluntary four-day week.”

When will the strikes take place?

The RMT announced eight dates for rolling 24-hour industrial action. Each date represents a separate 24-hour stoppage.

• Thursday 26 November 2026
• Thursday 17 December 2026
• Saturday 19 December 2026
• Monday 4 January 2027
• Wednesday 6 January 2027
• Wednesday 17 February 2027
• Tuesday 23 February 2027
• Thursday 25 February 2027

For employers and transport planners, the rolling format creates eight one-day disruption points rather than one continuous closure. Four dates fall from 17 December to 6 January, placing stoppages around Christmas and New Year.

Why is the union opposing the four-day week?

RMT says compressing the working week would lengthen the hours covered by each shift, including earlier starts and later finishes. It also expects short-notice shift changes and says the proposal weakens working rights and existing protections.

The union’s stated concerns are:

• Longer shifts, with earlier starts and later finishes.
• Short-notice changes to drivers’ schedules.
• Reduced working rights and existing protections.
• Displacement from depots for drivers who refuse the scheme, which Dempsey says the proposal threatens.

Some tube drivers also fear the proposal could pave the way for hundreds of job cuts. That concern follows the publication of staffing plans for the Bakerloo line.

Dempsey said: “There is nothing voluntary about a scheme that forces drivers to give up existing protections whether they work four days or five, and threatens those who refuse with displacement from their depots. RMT is not opposed to a genuine four-day working week that benefits our members, but we will not accept it being used as a vehicle for job cuts, intensified working and the erosion of terms and conditions.”

Dempsey has called on Sir Sadiq Khan, the London mayor and chair of TfL, to withdraw the proposals. RMT’s position separates the number of days worked from the terms attached to those days. The union supports a genuine four-day arrangement only if it benefits members without reducing protections or increasing job insecurity.

For TfL, the immediate test is whether it can preserve the voluntary structure while answering RMT’s objections to shift length, schedule control and employment security. The May action shows that last-minute talks can suspend walkouts before they begin. The announcement sets out strike dates but gives no timetable for resolving the dispute.

What does the dispute mean for London businesses?

Businesses across the city depend on commuters travelling to high streets, so the eight stoppages threaten another period of disrupted travel and reduced customer access. The previous strikes took place in June, while industrial action in May was suspended after last-minute talks with TfL.

Aslef, the separate train drivers’ union, has accepted a deal with transport bosses. That agreement has not stopped RMT’s eight-date programme, leaving employers and passengers to plan around eight separate 24-hour stoppages. TfL and the mayor of London have been approached for comment.