Transport ministers should follow health lead, says RMT

• Rail workers are striking due to a disagreement over wages.
• Job eliminations, and working conditions.
• Leading to disruption to train travel.

Transport ministers need to give “additional money” in contract discussions, much like their Department of Health counterparts did, according to the leader of the RMT union.

During the rail workers’ strike over pay and working conditions, Mick Lynch was speaking at a picket line at London’s Euston station.

This weekend’s train travel will be much more disrupted as a result.

That comes after a week of strikes by rail workers, junior physicians, teachers, and government employees.

In response to government discussions, NHS staff in England, including nurses and ambulance workers, will receive a 5% pay increase starting in April, according to Mr. Lynch.

This represents a slight “shift in mindset” on the side of health service ministers.

“The difference in that is there are no conditions, it’s new money – but our members are expected to swallow vast changes to their working conditions and they’re not prepared to do that to get a very modest, poor pay rise,” he said.

“In order to get something moving they’ll have to take away some of the conditions they’ve put on this proposal, and we want some fresh money in the pay proposal, so we’ll see what happens next week.”

The Royal College of Nursing, Unison, and the GMB, three of the largest unions, support the agreement.

Workers at 14 railway operators are striking on Saturday due to a protracted disagreement about wages, job eliminations, and working conditions.

Between 40 and 50 percent of trains are anticipated to run across the UK on Saturday, with no services at all in some locations.

As services start later and end much sooner than usual, rail passengers have been encouraged to check before departing.

Those who are anticipated to be impacted include football fans, train passengers going to the Cheltenham Festival, and weekend travelers.

On social media, some travelers complained about delays to their trips.

“I hate train strikes, M6 is just traffic forever,” wrote a supporter of Aston Villa Football Club who are playing Bournemouth at Villa Park stadium in Birmingham this afternoon.

“Missing Southampton FC because of train strikes is miserable, come on you saints. Wishing I was there,” wrote another football fan travelling to a separate game.

Another said: “Train strikes. Roadworks everywhere. Rain. It’s almost as if a higher power is telling me not to go to Queens Park Rangers today.”

According to the Rail, Maritime and Transport union, more than 20,000 employees will be on strike on Saturday.

The current strike action will cause “additional inconvenience” for travellers “who have already faced months of disruption,” according to Steve Montgomery, chair of the Rail Delivery Group (RDG).

“Unfortunately, while we will pull out all the stops to keep as many trains running as possible, there will be reduced services across many parts of the rail network on strike days, so our advice is to check before you travel,” he added.

On Thursday, RMT members also participated in a walkout, and additional strikes are scheduled for March 30 and April 1.

According to unions, any wage offer should take into account the present, 10%+ increase in the cost of living.

In an effort to put a stop to the protracted strike action, the RDG made a two-year, 9% salary raise offer to the RMT on January 19.

Also Read

Train drivers very close to going on strike, union warns

Train drivers at eight UK train companies have voted in favour of...

“In pure disarray,” according to Mr. Lynch, were the private rail companies.

“Sort yourselves out and settle our issue with an improved offer,” he stated of the RDG.

He said the RDG needed to “sort themselves out and settle our dispute with an improved offer”.

“They are incapable of providing a decent service to passengers and the sooner they are brought into public ownership the better.”

There are cautions that following the walkout, train services may also be impacted on Sunday morning as certain rolling stock may not be in the proper depots.

1,000 Passport Office employees announced a five-week strike on Friday, and security officers at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal Five stated they would go on strike for ten days.

Also Read

RMT accused of playing fast and loose with Christmas plans

Union leaders rejected improved offers. It halted railway strikes and vowed more...