Rail strikes chaos is ON as talks hit the buffers
MISERY FOR MILLIONS
TRAVEL chaos is set to hit next week after talks to halt rail strikes failed.
Three 24-hour walkouts by 40,000 Rail, Maritime and Transport union members will cause almost a week of disruption.
The union said it had been in discussions in the past few weeks at senior levels with Network Rail, train operators and London Underground.
But General Secretary
Mick Lynch, right, said: “Despite the best efforts of our negotiators no viable settlements to the disputes have been created.”
Members of the RMT at Network Rail and 13 train operators will begin their strike on Tuesday, bringing misery millions of commuters.
Further walkouts on Thursday and Saturday are also planned, and there will be a London Underground strike on Tuesday.
The action will cost the economy billions, with the hospitality industry alone taking a mammoth half-abillion-pound hit as spending drops 20%. The RMT said its members are for striking over job cuts and belowinflation pay rises.
It comes as the Government has slashed funding for National Rail and Transport For London. Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said the walkouts have been timed to cause “maximum disruption”. But Mr Lynch insisted that they “don’t want to cause misery”. He added: “We’ve got a cost of living crisis and our workers have been working throughout the pandemic and their reward has been a pay freeze.
“I understand the anger of people, but I also understand the anger of our workers.”
He went on: “We’re not holding the public hostage, but we’re not going to accept the poverty of our members.” Rail bosses unveiled a map of misery showing how only half of Britain’s rail and Tube network will be rolling next week.