Rail workers continue to strike, cripple transport in UK
Rail, Maritime and Transport union announced to resume its strike due to the lack of improvement in working conditions and payment.
In addition to the Rail, Maritime and Transport, National Highways workers are also striking on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Staff working for Network Rail and 14 train operating companies who belong to National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers will continue to protest on Wednesday in an ongoing dispute over pay, in a series of demonstrations that has crippled rail services and result in travel chaos in the nation.
Britain is in the grip of its worst run of worker unrest since Margaret Thatcher was in power in the 1980s, as surging inflation follows more than 10 years of stagnant wage growth, leaving many workers unable to make ends meet.
Repeated rail strikes have crippled the network in recent months while nurses, airport staff, paramedics and postal workers have also joined the fray, demanding higher pay to keep pace with inflation that is hovering around 40-year highs, reaching 10.7% in November.
After a break on Thursday, another 48-hour strike will be staged on Friday and Saturday.
Rail services made announcements early on Tuesday, urging passengers to only travel if necessary.
In a statement, the RMT said it decided to strike again because, despite its “best efforts” over the Christmas period, rail employers have not held any negotiations over the union’s demands for better pay and working conditions.
“The government is blocking the union’s attempts to reach a negotiated settlement with the rail employers,” said Mick Lynch, head of the UK’s largest rail union.
He warned that the industrial action could continue beyond May.
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In a tweet, Labour Party MP Beth Winter voiced support for the RMT strike, accusing the government of “waging war on the railways with cuts after cuts.”
“It is the RMT union who are fighting back,” she said.
Despite escalating pay demands, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to fight calls for inflation-busting rises, insisting the government must stick to more modest increases for public sector workers.
"The best way to help them and help everyone else in the country is for us to get a grip and reduce inflation as quickly as possible," Sunak told a watchdog panel of MPs late last year.
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