40,000 union rail workers walk out as travel chaos continues for Brits
40,000 rail workers are striking today, as RMT union members at Network Rail and 14 other train companies walk out over pay and job terms.
The Department for Transport said the union was “hell-bent on creating further misery for passengers across the UK”.
Writing in the Telegraph last night, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “The default strategy adopted by the RMT and others in industrial relations – their casual, habitual, brutal resort to the strike weapon – must end.
We as a Government must face this threat head on and make the union barons think twice before wielding it. Only then will this country progress to a high-productivity, high-wage 21st century economy benefitting all workers. We must complete Thatcher’s unfinished business.”
The London Underground is largely unaffected by the strikes, with only the Bakerloo, District, Elizabeth and Overground experiencing delays or part suspension.
It is expected that more people will use Uber and other ride-hailing operators to navigate the City.
More RMT strikes are planned for 18 and 20 August, with tube strikes incoming on 19 August.
This Saturday, 5,500 members of the train drivers’ union Aslef are set to go on strike, impacting seven rail firms.