Great Britain faces biggest rail strike in 30
years starting on Tuesday
Rail union RMT plans three 24-hour walkouts, stopping
trains in much of northern and south-west England, Wales and Scotland
Gwyn Topham
Transport correspondent
@GwynTopham
Mon 20 Jun
2022 06.00 BST
The biggest
rail strikes in three decades are due to start on Monday night, with trains
cancelled across Great Britain for much of the week.
The first
of three 24-hour walkouts by 40,000 RMT members, including signallers,
maintenance and train staff, will start just after midnight on Tuesday morning,
with only one in five trains running on strike days and halting services
altogether in much of northern and south-west England, Wales and Scotland.
The
strikes, over pay and attempts to reform the rail industry with post-Covid work
patterns hitting commuter revenues, will cause six days of disruption, with
trains limited to one an hour between 7.30am and 6.30pm on major intercity and
urban routes. Services will start later and be reduced on subsequent days.
The action
is being taken by Network Rail employees and onboard and station staff working
for 13 train operators in England. The RMT said thousands of jobs were at risk
in maintenance roles and that ticket office closures were planned, on top of
pay freezes during a time of high inflation.
The walkout
by signallers will have most impact, particularly in rural areas, leading to
line closures in places such as Wales, where there is no direct dispute with
the train operator. Most operators have told passengers to travel only if
necessary on strike days. Northern Rail has advised passengers not to travel
for the whole week.
While
Conservatives have attempted to associate the union-backed Labour party with
the strikes, Labour has pointed out that the transport secretary, Grant Shapps,
and other ministers have refused to take part in talks.
Unions
asked to meet ministers, saying the Treasury and Department for Transport
control contracts and funding. Shapps said it was up to employers to negotiate,
although train operating companies have been told they cannot offer pay rises,
according to industry insiders and unions.
Shapps said
on Sunday it was “crazy” to suggest that the Tories wanted rail unions to go on
strike, after Labour accused the government of encouraging the walkouts to go
ahead in order to stoke division. He said the strikes were “unnecessary” and a
result of trade union leaders “gunning for” a fight, accusing the RMT of planning
to “punish millions of innocent people”.
Last week,
Shapps told rail staff they risked “striking yourself out of a job”. Network
Rail bosses estimate the stoppages will cost the industry about £150m in lost
revenue.
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Talks have
been ongoing between Network Rail and the RMT, but bosses admitted there was
little hope of a breakthrough.
The
walkouts are on 21, 23 and 25 June and a special timetable will be in operation
from Monday, with some evening services curbed, until Sunday. About 20% of
trains will run on mainlines and urban areas.
Adding to
the commuter misery, a separate London Underground strike will also bring much
of the capital’s transport to a halt on Tuesday. About 10,000 members of the
RMT will walk out for 24 hours, closing most tube lines. London Overground and
Elizabeth lines will also be affected by the national rail strike throughout
the week.
Other
unions may join the rail strike later in the summer, in a move that could halt
services altogether. The TSSA union, which represents control room staff and
managers who step in to run contingency signalling, is balloting members at
Network Rail and announced strike votes at more train operators last week.
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