Rail staff begin strike action
STATION ALMOST DESERTED AS UNION MEMBERS WALK OUT
THE biggest strikes to hit the UK in more than 30 years left Leicester railway station almost deserted yesterday.
Members of the RMT union took the first of three days of industrial action in a dispute over pay and redundancies, after last-minute talks with the rail companies failed to secure a breakthrough.
People have been urged not to travel unless absolutely necessary.
East Midlands Railway (EMR) was offering a reduced service, including one train per hour between Nottingham and London and Sheffield and London and a similar frequency between Leicester and Nottingham.
Strike action on the London Underground yesterday added to the problems for any passengers travelling to London.
RMT pickets outside Leicester Railway Station said the strikes were necessary to get what they believe is a fair and deserved pay increase.
They were joined by Leicester East MP Claudia Webbe.
She said: “It’s really important to support rail workers because they are fighting for job security, for pay and for conditions to be right.
“What we’ve had is in a sense years of under-pay and years of downgrading workers’ terms and conditions and what this is about is fighting for all workers,” she said. “What we need is safety on our railways and our workers who have been praised throughout the pandemic deserve a fair pay rise. They deserve job security.”
Further strikes are set to take place on Thursday and Saturday, but the disruption is expected to be felt on the days after action takes palce.
An EMR spokesman said: “If you do decide to travel, plan ahead and leave extra time for disruption and short notice changes.
“There will also be a reduced service on days between strikes, particularly on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
“This includes the first trains of the morning being significantly later than normal.
“Journey planners are in the process of being updated and customers are urged to check their journey before setting off every day of the week.”
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