Train strikes: UK railways disrupted again as workers
take action over pay and conditions
More than 40,000 staff involved in widespread action
after union leaders rejected ‘paltry’ 4% pay rise
Geneva
Abdul
@GenevaAbdul
Wed 27 Jul
2022 07.13 BST
The
railways will again grind to a halt on Wednesday as workers strike over pay,
job security and working conditions.
The latest
talks to avert the action failed last week, a month since three days of
industrial action in June. The strikes involve more than 40,000 workers at
Network Rail, 14 train companies, and members of the Rail, Maritime and
Transport union (RMT).
Transport
for London services will be affected by the disruption as it uses sections of
track that comes under Network Rail’s jurisdiction. There will also be a
stoppage by members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), who
work for the Avanti West Coast firm.
“Network
Rail have not made any improvement on their previous pay offer and the train
companies have not offered us anything new,” said the RMT general secretary,
Mick Lynch. “The government need to stop their interference in this dispute so
the rail employers can come to a negotiated settlement with us.”
Today’s
strike came after union leaders rejected a “paltry” offer of a 4% pay rise for
the remainder of 2022 from Network Rail, and a possible 4% next year if workers
accepted changes in working conditions.
The strike
collides with school summer holidays, and Network Rail and the government say
it could affect the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which start on Thursday.
After the
strike announcement, Network Rail accused the union of “walking away” from
talks and said the action could have been avoided. “It’s now abundantly clear
that their political campaign is taking precedence over representing their
members’ interests,” said Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s lead negotiator.
The
Conservative government is also pushing ahead with controversial plans to allow
companies to replace striking employees with agency workers.
The latest
railway strikes come as wider industrial action is considered across the public
sector as workers demand pay rises amid the soaring cost of living.
Last week,
thousands of Royal Mail workers voted to strike in August. Barristers in
England and Wales staged a five-day strike earlier this month, and about 40,000
RMT members, including Network Rail signallers and train crew, will strike for
two further days on 18 and 20 August.
The
Conservative leadership hopeful Liz Truss has promised a further crackdown on
trade unions, which has been criticised as the “biggest attack on civil rights”
since the 19th century.
She has
said she would introduce a law of minimum service levels on critical national
infrastructure in the first 30 days of her premiership, which would restrict
teachers, postal workers and the energy sector.
“Truss is
proposing to make effective trade unionism illegal in Britain and to rob
working people of a key democratic right,” said Lynch. “If these proposals
become law, there will be the biggest resistance mounted by the entire trade
union movement, rivalling the General Strike of 1926, the Suffragettes and
Chartism.”
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