People stand outside a closed Covent Garden underground station during 24-hour tube strikes represented by the RMT union in dispute with TFL over working patterns, in London, Britain, April 22, 2026. [Photo/Agencies]
Workers in the United Kingdom's capital city were breathing a sigh of relief on Monday when London Underground train drivers called off a planned strike that looked set to paralyze the transit system for four days.
The strikes had been set for Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and were expected to massively disrupt the system that handles more than 4 million trips a day, forcing people to walk, cycle, bus, or try to get a cab in massively overcrowded conditions.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport, or RMT, union had called for the strikes in response to the employers' plan to introduce a four-day working week featuring condensed hours.
The union was understood to be especially angry that the change would mean workers got four paid lunch breaks instead of five.
