Posted on by Ruth Berry

This weekend’s strike by the Railway, Maritime, and Transport workers (RMT) union is set to disrupt London’s night tube for the first time since its reopening last week.

The strike has added to the ongoing debate surrounding women’s safety in the capital, with the night tube seen as a safe means for women to get home after dark.

The RMT strike is due to an argument over the work-life balance of train drivers, with the union claiming that Transport for London is “bulldozing” through changes to drivers working patterns by asking them to take on night-time and weekend shifts.

But the strike action has received heavy criticism from London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, who says the “unnecessary” strike is “hugely damaging to London at a time when our culture and hospitality sectors have been devastated by the pandemic”.

He also stated that the return of the night tube is important to the “confidence and safety of everyone travelling home at night, particularly women and girls”.

But not everyone agrees with the mayor’s position on the strikes.

Trade Union worker Chloe Koffman tweeted: “remember, no matter what the Mayor of London says- striking workers & RMT are NOT (sic) responsible for the safety issues for women in London.”

She added, “In fact, they are trying to keep us safe by demanding the Night Tube is properly staffed. Solidarity, not scapegoating”.

The debate comes after a petition signed by tens of thousands of people led to the reintroduction of the night tube following its closure due to the pandemic back in March of 2020.

The petition was started in September by MA student, Ella Watson, who argued that the night tube would improve women’s safety while travelling home at night, citing the statistic that 70% of women in the UK have been sexually harassed in public.

The RMT is set to have rolling strikes until Christmas.