Tube strikes set to cost hospitality £50m

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) working on different parts of the Underground will strike on separate days between today (5 January) and next Friday (12 January).

However, passengers will not feel the full impact of the strike until Sunday evening (7 January) when services are wound down.

The industrial action comes after RMT members voted against the latest pay offer of 5% at the end of last year.

According to data published by London Heritage Quarter, which comprises four of Westminster’s business improvement districts, more than one in five London office workers are expected to stay at home during the walkouts. 

“Yet another tube strike is frustrating news for Londoners, workers, and the thousands of hospitality businesses that operate in the capital,” says Kate Nicholls, chief executive of UKHospitality. 

“With the strike days affecting Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – the key week days that commuters now come into the city – we estimate that the impact to the sector from next week’s tube strike could be up to £50m.”

The ongoing industrial action on the railways, which started in June 2022, has had a major impact on the hospitality sector, with UKHospitality previously estimating that the strikes have so far cost the sector in the region £4bn.

“January is already one of the quieter trading months of the year for hospitality, where every sale counts, and this disruption will make the start to the year even more challenging,” Nicholls continues.

“We need all parties to come together to urgently reach a resolution and bring to an end this long-running disruption.”