London Underground drivers belonging to the RMT union will walk out for 48 hours next week, the latest escalation in a dispute over a compressed four-day working week that has already taken tube services offline this spring.

The stoppage is part of six occasions of industrial action over 12 days, with unionised staff having voted for strike action after arguing the proposed schedule would leave workers more fatigued and create a less safe working environment. Last month, London was hit with tube strikes for the first time since September 2025, and the source says the April walkouts caused disruption across the entire network.

The latest action comes after London Underground drivers belonging to the RMT union walked out for two 24-hour periods at the end of April 2026. Next week’s strike will last 48 hours, keeping pressure on Transport for London as the dispute moves through another round of planned stoppages. The Overground, DLR, Elizabeth line and most buses across the city are expected to run as normal throughout the strike period.

That relative calm will not extend everywhere. Seven bus routes will be affected by driver strikes from 5am on Friday May 15 until 5am Saturday May 16: the 8, N8, 25, N25, 425, 205 and N205. The source also indicates there are four days of industrial action this month and two more 24-hour strike periods in June, though the exact dates are not fully shown.

The dispute now turns on whether the compressed four-day working week can be pushed through without worsening fatigue or safety, a question that matters most to passengers and staff when the network is already bracing for repeated disruption. The next set of walkouts is already on the calendar; the issue is how much of London’s transport system can keep moving between them.