London's Underground network was brought to a halt on the first full day of a five-day strike by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), leaving millions of commuters facing long queues, overcrowded buses and severe road congestion while renewing scrutiny of the union's new general secretary, Eddie Dempsey.
The strike, which RMT members launched after rejecting negotiations with Transport for London (TfL), centres on demands that include a shorter working week—shifting from a 35-hour week to a 32-hour, four-day model—higher pay and steep travel discounts for members. TfL said it had tabled a 3.4% pay offer and called the reduction in hours "simply unaffordable." The stoppage has been estimated to cost the UK economy in the hundreds of millions of pounds.
The walkout has overwhelmed the two services still running normally—the Elizabeth Line and London Overground—created mammoth queues at bus stops, and led to reports of three-hour bus journeys for relatively short distances. TfL said a surge in demand caused technical problems on its website early on the day of the strike and apologised for disruption at individual stations where staff shortages and later openings left some passengers temporarily unable to exit.
The action also prompted event organisers to reschedule concerts in the capital and prompted criticism from opposition politicians and business groups. Downing Street said "Londoners will rightly be fed up with the disruption" and urged the RMT and TfL to return to talks. Some Labour politicians expressed public support for the union's safety and fatigue concerns.
Dempsey, who succeeded Mick Lynch as RMT general secretary earlier this year after serving as his deputy, has attracted renewed attention as he leads the union through the dispute. The tabloid Daily Mail reported that Dempsey, in his 40s, visited Ukraine's Donbas region in 2015 and was photographed with Aleksey Mozgovoy, a commander of pro-Russian separatist forces. The Daily Mail said he described Mozgovoy at the time as a "charismatic anti-fascist" and was critical of Western efforts over Ukraine, and that he had signed a letter from the Stop the War coalition criticising NATO's handling of Russian concerns. These reports were published as part of broader coverage of the strike and Dempsey's background.
RMT members have described Dempsey's rise through the trade union movement as rooted in frontline rail work. The union says he began his rail career as a platform worker at Paddington station, later became a train driver, and then moved into local and national union roles before becoming a full-time official. Colleagues have cited his long service in the RMT and his role in earlier disputes under previous leadership.
Press reports have also noted that Dempsey and his family live in a council flat in central London while the Daily Mail said the union pays him a package it put at about £108,500 a year. Neighbours quoted in those reports accused him of hypocrisy for remaining in public housing while on a high salary; the RMT and allies have defended his decision to live in social housing, saying publicly owned accommodation should be an option for a broad cross-section of residents.
RMT leaders said the strike is necessary to press safety and workload concerns they say affect members, arguing fatigue and extreme shift patterns pose risks to workers and passengers. The union rejected TfL's pay offer as inadequate in light of the working-hours proposals the membership sought.
Transport for London expressed disappointment that the RMT proceeded with the action, saying its offer was "fair" and "affordable" and urging the union to put it to members. TfL also said it would update real-time travel information to assist passengers and apologised for technical issues that affected its site during the morning rush.
The stoppage is the largest full closure of the Underground since March 2023 and comes amid a longer history of high-profile industrial action in the rail sector. The RMT and its predecessors have staged significant disputes in recent years over pay, staffing and changes to working practices, with prior rounds of strikes provoking debate about staffing, automation and funding for London's transport network.
Critics of the RMT action and of city leadership voiced mounting frustration. Conservatives at City Hall called on Mayor Sadiq Khan to engage publicly with the crisis, arguing his response had been limited; Labour figures and some MPs reiterated concerns about worker safety and called for negotiations to resume.
The strike's economic impact and effect on daily life have revived questions about long-term solutions for London's transport system, including automation, staff scheduling and the affordability of proposed pay and hours changes. TfL has warned that meeting the union's full package of demands would come at substantial cost, while the RMT has maintained that member safety and sustainable working patterns are central to the dispute.
Negotiations remained the immediate route out of the disruption. Officials on both sides continued to exchange statements urging a return to talks, while commuters sought alternative travel arrangements as the city adjusted to a week of curtailed Underground services.