Union bosses are threatening to shut down the system, disrupting rail services and the London Underground, affecting events such as the Glastonbury Festival and the British Athletics Championships.
When do strikes take place?
The strike is set to begin on June 21 with 50,000 railway workers expected to strike and affect routes across the Network Rail and London Underground. Up to 40,000 railway workers will go on strike again on June 23 and 25, according to the Railways, Shipping and Transportation Union (RMT). However, union leaders said the move was to affect railway services “for the entire week in which the three days of action have been announced”. This is because trains may not be at the right stations after departures.
Which railway operators will be affected?
Only one-fifth of basic rail services are expected to run during the three-day strike. The interrupted railway routes are:
Chiltern Railways Cross Country Trains Greater England LNER East Midlands Railroad c2c North Trains Southeast Southwest Railway Great Western Railway TransPennine Express West Coast Avanti West Midlands Trains
What are the workers on strike for?
Railway workers went on strike after a dispute with Network Rail over wage freezes and proposed job cuts. RMT claims that up to 2,500 jobs are at risk and that workers have suffered wage freezes for years. RMT Secretary-General Mike Leeds commented on the action: “We have a cost of living crisis and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of wage freeze. The National Rail responded by saying that the union “must recognize that we are a public body and any salary increase must be affordable for taxpayers”. CEO Andrew Haines said: “We can not expect to get more than our fair share of public funds, so we need to modernize our industry to put it on a sound financial footing for the future. The failure of modernization it will only lead to a decline in industry and more job losses in the long run. “
