UK trains halt as unions strike
RAIL workers have begun a series of strikes to cripple Britain’s transport system over the Christmas period.
Starting from Tuesday (Dec 13), thousands of members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (NURMTW) and Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) will walk out on train companies across the country. They will also strike on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday this week.
Great Western Railway will be hit by a separate strike on Thursday.
The unions are holding out for steeper pay hikes after inflation exceeded 11 per cent in the UK. They are also at odds with train companies and the government over proposed reforms to the rail network.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper told Sky News: “I think the tide is turning on opinion on whether these offers are reasonable or not.”
“There isn’t a bottomless pit of money to go into the rail industry.”
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NURMTW members will also strike over Christmas, after rejecting a pay offer from Network Rail on Monday night. Unions said Network Rail’s offer comprised a 5 per cent raise this year, and a 4 per cent raise from January.
There was a glimmer of hope for a breakthrough, however, when another union, Unite, said that its members voted to accept the offer, ending its walkouts in December and January.
The TSSA recommended that its members accept the deal, saying it was the “best offer that can be achieved through negotiation” with the results of a vote due on Thursday.
Unions remain at loggerheads with the UK’s train companies, which form part of separate negotiations. Those talks are ongoing with train operating companies through the Rail Delivery Group. BLOOMBERG
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