UK rail workers strike for higher pay amid inflation crunch

LONDON

Britain’s rail transport system came to a standstill on Wednesday as staff went on strike for better pay and working conditions.

Over 40,000 railway workers walked out after talks between the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and rail companies failed to produce a solution.

Workers on strike are from Network Rail, a major railway company that was in negotiations with the RMT before the talks broke down, and 14 other companies.

The strike will also affect Transport for London, the capital’s transport network, because components of its services use the rail network in London’s outskirts.

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT, said Network Rail has not made “any improvement on their previous pay offer, and the train companies have not offered us anything new.”

“The government needs to stop their interference in this dispute so the rail employers can come to a negotiated settlement with us,” he said in a statement.

Network Rail had offered a 4% pay rise to workers for the remainder of 2022, with an additional 4% increase possible the following year.

The RMT, however, rejected this offer, calling it “paltry” as it was below the inflation rate.

Network Rail accused the RMT of “walking away” from talks, with the company’s lead negotiator Tim Shoveller, saying “it’s now abundantly clear that their political campaign is taking precedence over representing their members’ interests.”

The Tory government has also accused the RMT and other unions of causing chaos, proposing a controversial plan for zero-contract agency workers to replace the striking staff.

Conservative leader and prime minister hopeful Liz Truss has promised a crackdown on trade unions, a move widely criticized as one of the most serious attacks on civil rights in the UK since the 19th century.

“Truss is proposing to make effective trade unionism illegal in Britain and to rob working people of a key democratic right,” Lynch said.

“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,” he warned.

Wednesday’s rail strike came amid the threat of further industrial action across the wider UK public sector, with workers demanding better salaries in the face of soaring living costs.

Thousands of Royal Mail workers voted last week to strike in August, while 40,000 railway workers will protest for another two days on Aug. 18 and 20.

Last month, railway workers across the UK and barristers in England and Wales staged a national strike over worsening job security and working conditions.