New UK rail strike brings train services to a crawl

London, Jul 27 (BNA): Britain’s rail network saw a crawl after 40,000 employees left their jobs over a dispute over jobs, wages and working conditions.

Train companies said only about a fifth of the services were scheduled to run across the country.

The 24-hour strike by cleaners, signage, maintenance workers and station staff comes one month after the most disruptive rail strike in the country in three decades brought trains to a standstill across the UK at the start of the summer holiday season.

The row revolves around wages, working conditions and job security as British Railways struggle to adapt to travel and commuting habits changed by the coronavirus pandemic, the Associated Press reports.

There were nearly a billion train journeys in the UK in the year to March, compared to 1.7 billion in the 12 months before the pandemic, and rail companies are looking to cut costs and staff.

The National Federation of Rail, Marine and Transportation Workers says the latest wage offer by employers has been inadequate amid high inflation – currently at 9.4% – and the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.

The Conservative government is accused of preventing the rail companies from making a better offer.

The government says it is not directly involved in the conflict.

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT, said the union “will continue to negotiate in good faith, but we will not be bullied or cajoled by anyone.”

“The government needs to stop interfering in this dispute so that the railway employers can reach a negotiated settlement with us,” he said.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps accused union leaders of “trying to cause as much disruption as possible in the daily lives of millions of hard-working people across the country”.

The union organized three one-day strikes last month that suspended services in most parts of the country.

More strikes are scheduled on Saturday when train drivers leave, and on three days in August.

ZHB