Fears of rail paralysis as second union joins strikes
TRAIN services are set to be brought to a complete standstill next month as a second union announced a fresh wave of strikes.
The RMT said thousands of workers at Network Rail and 14 train operating companies will stage a 24- hour walkout on October 1 – the eve of the Conservative Party conference.
It will coincide with action called by train drivers’ union Aslef, which has confirmed that workers from 12 firms will walk out on October 1 and 5.
The combined action means that virtually no trains will run the day before the Tory Party conference begins in Birmingham on October 2.
The strikes are also set to affect those arriving in the capital for the London Marathon as well as football fans travelling to Premier League games in Liverpool and Southampton.
Both unions gave the mandatory 14-day notice to the industry but did not officially announce strike action until yesterday – once ten days of national mourning for the Queen had come to an end.
However, Aslef rail barons were branded ‘utterly disrespectful’ for notifying companies of the planned action last Friday when the monarch was lying in state.
It follows a summer blighted by walkouts on the rail network, which saw services greatly reduced across the country and passengers hit by travel chaos.
Both unions originally planned strikes for earlier this month with a joint walkout on September 15.
RMT members – who are striking in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions – had also planned walkouts on September 17. However, both strikes were called off as a mark of respect after the Queen’s death.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the wave of strikes would send a ‘clear message to the Government and employers that working people will not accept continued attacks on pay and working conditions’.
But a Rail Delivery Group spokesman said: ‘ These strikes will once again hugely inconvenience the very passengers the industry needs to support its recovery from the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
‘They range from those left out of pocket because they can’t get to work to people missing vital appointments and to thousands of London Marathon participants who, after months of training, will have their journeys to London disrupted.
‘The strikes are not in the long-term interests of rail workers or building a sustainable rail industry.’
Train drivers – who are striking in a row over pay – now earn an average of £60,000, according to rail industry sources.
The announcements have sparked outrage, with one London Marathon participant writing on Twitter: ‘This event raises millions for charity. If your drivers can’t wait a week to strike over their £50k-plus salaries, that’s appalling.’
Another runner said: ‘Massive inconvenience to thousands of innocent, workingclass people travelling to London to raise money for charities by running in the marathon. You’ve lost my vote and my sympathies, it’s not our fight!’
It is understood transport workers’ union TSSA are due to make an announcement on further strike action in the coming days.
They planned a 24-hour strike for next Monday but also cancelled it following the Queen’s death.
‘Won’t be sustainable’