London’s business districts were deserted as unions carried out consecutive days of rail strikes following a lengthy row over pay.
(Bloomberg) — London’s business districts were deserted as unions carried out consecutive days of rail strikes following a lengthy row over pay.
Office occupancy in the capital fell to 22% and 21% on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, according to Freespace, a company that gathers workplace data. This was less than half November’s rate, when London’s office occupancy reached 52% on Tuesdays, the company said.
The figures refer to premises that stay open. Some offices have stayed shut completely following the Christmas and New Year break.
Read More: Worst Day of UK Train Strikes as Union Warns of More to Come
Train strikes are taking place across five straight days this week, crippling commuter services. However, while the action has some impact on the London Underground, most of the city’s famous Tube network is still running.
Economic impact
The UK has been beset by months of industrial unrest as workers fight for raises amid a cost-of-living crisis. Industrial action intensified in December with roughly a dozen days of train strikes and seven days of walkouts at the Royal Mail.
Even before the escalation of strikes, one in six UK businesses said they’d been affected, with many unable to obtain essential products.
The Office for National Statistics said 16% of companies were hit by November’s walkouts, and more than a quarter — 28% — of these struggled to get hold of goods needed to run their business.
Hospitality businesses are likely to have suffered from the ongoing unrest. Data from OpenTable showed restaurant bookings on Jan. 3, the first day of the latest round of train strikes, down 14.7% compared to the same date in 2019 before the pandemic.
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