LONDON (AP)—UK rail unions and companies are set to hold last-minute talks on Monday as hopes of avoiding the country’s biggest rail strike in decades dwindle.
As many as 40,000 cleaners, signalers, mechanics and station workers are scheduled to come out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for three days this week in a dispute over wages and job security amid rising inflation.
The strike is expected to disrupt the train network across the country and the London Underground strike on Tuesday.
As in Europe, millions of people in the UK are seeing an increase in the cost of living. Wages have failed to keep up with inflation, which has reached 9% and is expected to rise further as Russia’s war with Ukraine cuts off energy supplies and staple foodstuffs, including wheat. Prices were rising even before the war as the global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic spurred strong consumer demand.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – JUNE 19: Richmond railways nearly abandoned in West London on Sunday 19 June 2022. (Photo by Vudi Xhymshiti/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
At the same time, UK passengers remain below pre-pandemic levels, and rail companies are trying to cut costs and staff.
Negotiations to resolve the dispute stalled, and the unions urged the government to intervene. They accuse Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s conservative administration of standing on the sidelines to blame the unions and the centre-left opposition Labor Party for derailment.
The unions said the government, which sets policies for rail companies and owns infrastructure operator Network Rail, has not given companies enough flexibility to offer substantial increases.
“This is something between employers – the rail and Network Rail companies – and the unions,” said Treasury Secretary Simon Clarke.
He said workers should receive a “reasonable wage increase”, but that excessive increases would trigger a “wage-price” spiral, leading to higher inflation.
Mick Lynch, secretary general of the Railway, Shipping and Transport Companies Association, said he expects strikes in other industries this year.
“I think a lot of unions will run across the country because people can’t afford it anymore,” he told Sky News. “We have full-time employees who need government assistance and use food banks. This is a national disgrace.”
Combining travel concerns with the UK, Heathrow Airport said it had asked airlines flying from Terminals 2 and 3 to cut flights by 10% on Monday. The request came after reports surfaced on Friday of large amounts of luggage at London’s airport.
Source: Breitbart
