Tube strike to coincide with Trump’s visit to Britain

June 26 (UPI) — Drivers on part of London’s Underground will strike during U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to Britain next month.

In a statement Tuesday, Britain’s National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said drivers on the tube’s Piccadilly Line would strike “over a series of attacks on working conditions and staffing levels that have turned the line into a pressure cooker.”

The strike will begin July 11 at 9 p.m. local time and will last until after midnight on July 14, the union said. Trump is scheduled to visit Britain on July 13.

Mick Cash, general secretary of the RMT union, said workers had “no option” but to strike next month.

“Every effort by RMT reps to negotiate a settlement has been obstructed by the company and it is now down to London Underground bosses to start listening to their members, take the raft of issues at the heart of this dispute seriously and start engaging in a way that will allow us to make some genuine progress,” Cash said.

According to RMT, about half a million passengers each day travel on the Piccadilly Line, which links central London to Heathrow airport.

The strikes will come as thousands of demonstrators are expected to take to the streets of London to protest the U.S. president’s visit.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan hinted in April that Trump’s visit might lead to protests.

“If he comes to London, President Trump will experience an open and diverse city that has always chosen unity over division and hope over fear,” Khan said. “He will also no doubt see that Londoners hold their liberal values of freedom of speech very dear.”

Trump is scheduled to meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II.