Tens of thousands of railway and tube workers are due to leave by the end of this month in what has been described as the “biggest industrial action outbreak in the UK since 1989.”
Union leaders are threatening to “shut down the system”, and major disruptions to rail and London Underground services are expected, affecting events such as the Glastonbury Festival and the British Athletics Championships.
When are the strikes going on?
The departure will start on 21 June with up to 50,000 railway workers expected to strike and services via Network Rail and the London Underground will be affected.
As many as 40,000 railway workers will go on strike again on June 23 and 25, according to the Railway, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.
However, union officials said the action was to affect rail services “throughout the week where the three days of action have been called.” This is because trains may not be at the proper stations after departures.
Which rail operators will be affected?
Only one-fifth of the main rail services are expected to be operational during the three-day strike period. The interrupted railway services are:
- Chiltern Railways
- Background trains
- Great England
- LNER
- East Midlands Railway
- c2c
- Northern trains
- South East
- Southwestern Railroad
- Great Western Railway
- TransPennine Express
- Next West Coast
- West Midlands trains
Why are workers on strike?
Railroad workers have voted in favor of the strike following a dispute with Network Rail over a wage freeze and a proposal for job cuts. RMT claims that up to 2,500 jobs are at risk and that workers have been subject to years of wage freeze.
RMT Secretary-General Mike Lynch said of the action: “We have a cost-of-living crisis and it is unacceptable for railway workers to 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 wage increase must be affordable for taxpayers.”
Executive Director Andrew Haines said: “We can’t wait to get more of our fair share of public funds, so we need to modernize our industry to put it on a solid financial footing for the future. modernizing will only lead to a decline in industry and more long-term job losses. “