Transport Secretary describes strike as “a call”
Speaking to Sky News this morning, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the government would not get involved as it would “make things worse”, adding that it was the employers who had the mandate and the details. technicians to negotiate.
Shapps, while mentioning other disputes between doctors, firefighters and postal workers that were resolved without government involvement, said:
It’s a trick I’m afraid you’re falling for, the unions and the Labor Party, the Labor Party that won’t even condemn these strikes today, and the unions that just last month said they wouldn’t negotiate with the government, and they have suddenly decided, running out of things to say, that they will suddenly ask the ministers to talk to them and enter the room directly with them. It wouldn’t solve anything, in fact, it would make things worse and that’s why I’m not in the room.
Ahead of the program, Shapps said “it’s time to resolve this strike” and called on unions to return to the negotiating table.
Updated at 08.25 BST
This is how passengers and passengers respond to railway strikes.
A health worker in north London who arrived at work an hour and a half late amid the disruption of the trip has said that NHS staff like him “cannot strike” like those of the railway companies, reports PA News.
David Raposo Buzon, 34, said:
I feel good about people going on strike, but at the same time I feel angry when I think NHS workers can’t go on strike even though our working conditions are very bad.
Very limited trains to Waterloo station. Photography: Future Publishing / Getty Images
Susan Millson, 69, of Clapham, south-west London, told PA News that the railway strikes were “outrageous” and “horrible” as she was forced to cancel her journey in Clapham. East Grinstead to see his sister during the day.
Millson arrived at Clapham Crossing Station in the hope that his train to East Grinstead might be up and running, but found that services had been affected by the strikes. Speaking to PA News about his disruption, he said:
I just think it’s outrageous that it’s not between the unions and the government. No one is giving any leeway right now, it’s horrible, it’s horrible. It’s also a good day. No one can afford to strike right now in the way the country is, it’s horrible and now we have it.
Overview of an empty platform at Clapham Junction Station. Photo: Rebecca Speare-Cole / PA
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Summary
Good morning to those who join our live coverage of train strikes. Here is a summary of what has happened so far:
- Johnson warned travelers to be prepared to “stay the course.” At a cabinet meeting, Johnson also said railroad reforms were needed, otherwise the “disaster” of declining railroad use would occur.
- RMT called Johnson’s agency staffing plans a “trick” in response to Boris Johnson’s plans to break labor action by allowing companies to incorporate agency staff, it announced Monday. The unions have denounced the measure as unfeasible, unsafe and potentially in violation of international law.
- Labor MPs have joined the picket lines in solidarity with members of the RMT union, although Keir Starmer’s office told shadow cabinet members that leaders “should not be in the picket lines “. Deputies include Ian Lavery, Beth Winter and Navendu Mishra, among others.
- The rail strikes will cost restaurants, pubs and other businesses in the hospitality industry £ 500m in revenue. The UKHospitality CEO said the industry, already battered by the Coronavirus pandemic, “can no longer bear these serious economic shocks”.
- The National Rail Inquires website shut down around 8 a.m., disrupting passengers trying to use the service to find out which trains are running during the train strike.
- Transport Secretary Grant Shapps called the strikes a “trick” and said the government would not get involved because it would “make things worse”.
Follow our policy blog with my colleague Andrew Sparrow, for the latest updates from Westminster and beyond as the biggest railway strike unfolds since 1989.
The head of Network Rail has denied that the government has relied on him to limit the pay rise of its workers as it has been unable to prevent the biggest train strikes in 30 years.
Attempts to prevent strikes through talks failed on Monday evening and the RMT accused the government of blocking an agreement.
The union believes that the government has pressured Network Rail not to exceed a 3% wage increase because of the precedent it could set and the risk of inflation.
Read more about my partner Emily Dugan here:
Johnson warns travelers to be prepared to “stay the course”
At a cabinet meeting, Johnson said railroad reforms were needed, PA reports. Johnson added:
We need the union barons to sit down with Network Rail and the train companies and get it done. We need, I’m afraid, everyone, and I say all over the country, we need to prepare to stay the course. To stay the course, because these reforms, these improvements in the way our railways operate are in the interest of the traveling public, will help reduce costs for payers across the country.
Without the modernization program, industry and businesses will face more financial pressure, Johnson said, and as a result they would have to raise ticket prices even further, according to PA. This would result in the “disaster” of declining railroad use.
Updated at 10.21 BST
This is how passengers and passengers respond to railway strikes.
On boarding a replacement bus service off Birmingham New Street, a man told PA News that “half of what I said would not be suitable for printing in a newspaper.” Another man passing by a nearby picket line told the striking workers, “Well done, everyone. Solidarity. Well done.”
A line of pickets is seen outside Birmingham New Street Station. Photography: Jacob King / PA
Electrical engineer Harry Charles told PA News that his normal 10-minute train ride to London Bridge took 90 minutes.
The 30-year-old from Lewisham said: “Obviously I had to wake up early and leave home at 6am. everything increases ”.
An empty staircase leads to London Bridge Underground Station in London. Photography: Tony Hicks / AP
Rene Mance, 47, said the chaos of the trips had interrupted his trip to the Glastonbury festival, where he was starting a new job, reports PA News.
“I can’t pretend it wasn’t stressful. It has. I didn’t really sleep very well because I was worried about it,” she said. Traveling with heavy luggage believed to be causing trouble on the bus, Mance said she was forced to pay almost £ 40 for a taxi to the station.
Speaking to PA News at Paddington Station, he said:
For many people, for example, a mother with children or someone with a disability is absolute chaos. Whatever my situation, I would have found a way, but you know, some people are not like me. They have no money to get in the taxi, and for me it was a luxury, but it worked.
Updated at 10.30 BST
Guardian North of England editor Helen Pidd reports on train strikes from Manchester, where pedestrians have wished good luck to strikers as they pass.
Picket in Manchester Piccadilly: pedestrians wishing them luck when they pass. The strikers say they cannot give their name for fear of disciplinary action. They say they have universal support from 6am. #railstrike pic.twitter.com/j3BOwOlpaJ
– Helen Pidd (@helenpidd) June 21, 2022
RMT says Johnson agency staff plans are “trick”
On Monday, Boris Johnson responded to the largest rail strikes in a generation with plans to disrupt industrial action by allowing companies to hire agency staff, a move that unions have described as unfeasible, unsafe and potentially law-breaking. international.
Amanda Testa, secretary of the RMT Bristol branch, told PA News Agency:
There are no agency staff; we have seen this in other industries.
Testa added that it was almost impossible to find agency staff to help, even when there were no strikes.
Updated at 10.28 BST
Uber users seeking to avoid strikes on London Underground and railways are affected by price increases, reports PA.
A three-mile journey from Paddington to King’s Cross was estimated to cost £ 27 at 8.45am.
Passengers pass a stop sign at Liverpool Lime Street Station. Photo: Paul Ellis / AFP / Getty Images
Labor MPs have joined the picket lines in solidarity with members of the RMT union, despite Keir Starmer’s office telling shadow cabinet members that to “show leadership” leaders “should not to be on the picket lines “.
Ian Lavery, a Wansbeck Labor MP, said: “Solidarity with the RMT union today and every day.”
Cynon Valley Labor MP Beth Winter said: “Unions are the organized working class. In the words of Mick Lynch,” if you’re not bargaining, you’re begging, “and the British working class shouldn’t have to beg “.
Full solidarity with the striking members of @RMTunion today.
Unions are the organized working class. In the words of Mick Lynch, “if you’re not bargaining, you’re asking, and the British working class shouldn’t have to beg.”
United workers will never be defeated. pic.twitter.com/d5DhxhkwUx
– Beth Winter MP (@BethWinterMP) June 21, 2022
Expressing solidarity on Twitter, Stockport Labor MP Navendu Mishra added: “This treacherous government has underfunded and mismanaged our public transport network for more than a decade.”
This treacherous government has been underfunding and mismanaging our public transportation network for more than a decade.
As a proud trade unionist, I stand by all the workers in our …