Train travel is expected to be severely disrupted due to strikes which are expected to shut down massive sections of the UK’s rail system.
A long-running row over jobs, wages, and working conditions mean around 40,000 rail workers will strike on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday.
It happens after RMT members, who make up the largest rail union in the UK, rejected new salary offers and promised to continue fighting.
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The UK government continues to play hard-ball and says despite the “damage,” it will not back down.
Most train companies across the UK are likely to be affected, and Network Rail has commended passengers to “only travel if absolutely necessary”.
Passengers are recommended to check their train-operating company’s website before setting out, with delays and terminations also likely on the days around the strikes.
There are likely to be no services early in the morning or late at night, with only one in five services operating between 07:30 – 18:30 GMT.
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The RMT has held a sequence of strikes since the summer that has shut much of the rail network in England, Scotland and Wales and impend to hit businesses in the run-up to Christmas.
It comes as workers in many other trades down tools, with bus drivers, Royal Mail workers, nurses and highways workers and baggage handlers also striking this week.
Rail workers are calling for improved conditions and pay rises to match the increasing inflation, with the cost of living which is at its quickest rate for more than 40 years.
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But Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has ruled out inflation-linked wage increases, and rail bosses say big changes are required to modernise the railway.
On Monday, Network Rail, which operates the UK’s rail infrastructure, said the union was causing “misery” after its members rejected a fresh pay deal.
Rail Minister Huw Merriman meanwhile urged RMT leader Mick Lynch to return to the negotiating table, adding: “The government’s resolve is clear: we want these strikes taken down, and we want a better and more resilient railway for the future.”
But Mr. Lynch said the government was doing nothing to stop the walkouts and effectively wanted to ban such action with tough new anti-strike laws.
He said: “Our members, along with the entire trade union movement will continue their campaign for a square deal for workers, decent pay increases and good working conditions.
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The RMT is involved in two negotiating battles, one with Network Rail, where it represents around 20,000 signallers and maintenance workers, and the other with the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), where it represents about 20,000 workers at 14 train companies.
Last week, the union rejected an offer from the Rail Delivery Group which would allow for a four percent pay rise this year and another four percent next year, arguing it did not meet its criteria for pay or conditions.
More changes would see ticket offices closed or repurposed, more Sunday working and greater use of part-time contracts.
But Mr. Lynch said it would mean “the loss of thousands of jobs” and the use of “unsafe practices”.
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An agreement that would have offered RMT employees at Network Rail a five percent wage increase this year and a four percent pay increase in 2023.
The offer was turned down on Monday by 63.6 percent of the union’s members.
The union deemed the offer “substandard” and claimed it required 1,900 job losses in addition to significant changes to working conditions. Network Rail, however, emphasised that the job cuts could be voluntary.
Following this week’s walkouts, RMTs from both factions will strike once more on January 3–4 and again on January 6–7.
Additionally, Network Rail employees will walk out of work from 18:30 on Christmas Eve to 06:00 on December 27.
In an effort to settle the conflict, Mr. Lynch has requested a meeting with the prime minister.
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But on Monday Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said: “We are not seeking to impose government over and above either the independent pay review process or ongoing discussions between employers and the unions.
“We won’t be changing the process.”
On Monday, ministers discussed contingency plans for upcoming strikes, including using the military and civil servants to cover Border Force staff, at an emergency Cobra meeting.
The armed forces will also be deployed to hospital trusts ahead of an ambulance strike, the government says.
But Downing Street warned there would still be serious disruption and added that the country is facing “a challenging number of days”.
Source: BBC News
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