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London's Tube system shuts down as workers start a week-long strike

London's Tube system came to a halt on Monday, as workers began a strike over pay and conditions of work. This caused commuters and visitors to the British capital great inconvenience.

Between Monday and Thursday, there are not expected to be any London Underground trains. The Docklands Light Railway that connects Canary Wharf with the City of London will also not operate on Tuesday or Thursday.

Many Londoners chose to cycle to work and others took detours on Monday morning.

Laura Sutton, 46 a legal adviser, was at London Bridge Station. She said, "The prospect of having to wait all week is a nightmare... I've probably taken twice as long this morning."

The RMT union stated that the dispute was centered on pay, fatigue, shift patterns, and a reduction of the working week.

Eddie Dempsey, RMT's General Secretary said: "They're not looking for a king-sized ransom but fatigue and shift rotations can have serious impacts on the health and well-being of our members."

Transport for London operates the public transport network in London. The union said it would accept only a deal that led to a shorter working week. Staff typically work 35 hours. It claimed to have worked hard to resolve the conflict and offered staff a pay increase of 3.4%.

During the strike, some train services will run in the capital.

There were minor delays on the Elizabeth Line (which operates trains to Heathrow Airport) and Overground rail networks.

The strikes will also cause disruption to commuters and tourists. Coldplay, a British rock band, has rescheduled two concerts in Wembley Stadium for this week. Post Malone, a U.S. musician, has also postponed two of his London shows until later in the year. Sachin Ravikumar, Will Russell and Marissa Davison. Reporting by Will Russell. William James edited the story.

(source: Reuters)