Entire cities will be cut off from the train network next week as strikes close half of Britain’s railways.
Huge parts of the UK will be without any rail services on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday when 40,000 RMT members leave in a pay and job dispute.
Network Rail confirmed on Wednesday that about 80 percent of the services will have to be removed.
Travelers to work were told not to travel by train next week, as the entire network will be crippled by the biggest strike in more than 30 years.
Tens of thousands of rail and metro stations are due to leave this month in what has been described as “the biggest industrial outbreak in the UK since 1989”. The Rail, Maritime and Transport Unions have announced a separate strike on the railways and the London Underground.
Union leaders are threatening to “shut down the system” in the wake of major disruptions to rail services and the London Underground, which will affect events including the Glastonbury Film Festival and the British Athletics Championships.
When do strikes happen?
- Tuesday, June 21
- Thursday, June 23
- Saturday, June 25
The departure is due to begin on Tuesday, June 21, with more than 50,000 railway workers expected to strike, and services at Network Rail and the London Underground will be affected.
About 40,000 railway workers will then strike again on Thursday, June 23, and Saturday, June 25, according to the RMT union.
However, union bosses said the action should affect rail services “for the entire week in which the three days of action are announced”. This is because trains may not be at the correct stations after exits.
Railway Union The TSSA union voted later this month for Network Rail employees for a strike that could begin on Monday, July 25, around the time of the British Community Games in Birmingham.
TSSA Secretary General Manuel Cortes said: “We may see a summer of discontent on our railways if Network Rail doesn’t see the point and comes to the table to address the concerns of their staff.
“Fat cat bosses have so far refused these perfectly reasonable demands, leaving us with no choice but to vote for industrial action, something that is always a last resort.
Which railway operators will be affected?
Only one-fifth of the main rail services are expected to operate during the three-day strike in June. The interrupted railway services are:
- Chiltern Railways
- Trains for crossing
- Great England
- LNER
- East Midlands Railway
- c2c
- Northern trains
- Southeast
- Southwest Railway
- The Great Western Railway
- TransPennine Express
- Avanti West Coast
- Trains in the West Midlands
TSSA’s possible actions with Network Rail would have a wider impact on the services. There are members with engineering, maintenance, supervision, control and management.
What are the workers striking for?
Railway workers voted to strike after a dispute with Network Rail over wage freezes and proposed job cuts. RMT claims that about 2,500 jobs are at risk and that workers have been subject to wage freezes for years.
The TSSA does not require mandatory redundancies for 2022, no changes in conditions unless agreed with staff, and wage increases that are in line with inflation.
RMT Secretary General Mike Lynch said of the action: “We have a crisis in the cost of living and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of wage freeze.”
National Rail responded by saying that the union “must recognize that we are a public body and any increase in wages must be available to taxpayers.”
CEO Andrew Haynes said: “We cannot expect to take more than our fair share of public money, so we need to modernize our industry to put it on a sound financial footing for the future. Failure to modernize will only lead to industry decline and more job losses in the long run. “
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