UK strikes: Month of rail chaos begins with first 48 hours of action as walkout looms for nursing mothers
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Commuters face more travel misery this morning as a new strike by rail workers has begun, with recent talks failing to resolve a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) walked out for 48 hours, paralyzing services across the country.
The suspension affects 14 rail companies and Network Rail, and passengers are urged to travel only if necessary.
Talks called by rail minister Hugh Merriman on Thursday night failed to break the deadlock.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the minister had asked for further talks between the RMT and employers to find solutions.
However, Network Rail staff at the Transport Staff Association (TSSA) voted to back a deal amounting to “at least a 9 per cent rise for this year and next – or at least 11 per cent for those on lower wages – plus job security”. .
Meanwhile, nurses who staged their first near-national strike have warned they will strike more often and for longer next year if their demands for a pay rise are not met, hospital bosses have warned.
Key points
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Which train services are running today?
Although most rail operators are advising customers to avoid the railways today and tomorrow, many services are still running.
Most of the UK operators affected are running reduced or severely reduced services on Friday (December 16) and Saturday (December 17). Around 20 per cent of normal UK services will run.
So does your rail operator provide a service and which routes are planned to be launched?
Here’s everything you need to know.
Simon Calder December 16, 2022 8:44 am
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The government is “preventing companies from negotiating with unions”, says an RMT member
A striking transport worker has accused the UK government of interfering in union-employer negotiations over pay and conditions.
Speaking at a picket outside Leeds City Station today, RMT member John Stewart told student journalist Alex Smith: “This government seems to want to run everything for everyone.
“And He [the Prime Minister] it stops the company from negotiating with its own elected representatives, which we have been doing for donkey’s years and have always found a solution.
“The government has decided that we are under their wing and we will do as we are told and work according to their terms and conditions. And I’m afraid my members won’t have that.
Lucy Thackray December 16, 2022 at 2:17 pm
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Zahawi slams ‘Mick ‘The Grinch’ Lynch’
Former chancellor Nadeem Zahawi called RMT general secretary Mick Lynch “Mick ‘Grinch’ Lynch” in a tweet about the disruption to the rail strike.
“Keir Starmer either can’t or won’t stand up to his fellow unionists, causing strike chaos across the country,” Mr Zahawi wrote.
“This is Labour’s nightmare before Christmas, complete with their friend Mick ‘The Grinch’ Lynch.”
Mick Lynch, meanwhile, told the column at Euston Station that a deal was ‘achievable’
“This is achievable in my opinion and in the opinion of my executive committee.”
“I also think that’s probably the view of the companies, so we need the government to facilitate that and use their good offices to get a good deal,” he told Sky News.
Lucy Thackray December 16, 2022 1:58 pm
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London Underground in disarray
Anyone who takes the train to London will find that the tube network is in disarray due to a number of problems unrelated to the latest rail strike.
On the District line, there is no service between Turnham Green and Richmond due to a signal failure at Gunnersbury, while a separate signal failure on Ealing Common is causing “severe delays between Earl’s Court and Ealing Broadway”.
The same signal failure at Ealing Common stopped all trains on the Piccadilly Line between Acton Town and Uxbridge due to a signal failure at Ealing Common.
The roundabout only runs anti-clockwise “due to signal failure at Gloucester Road”. Without a hint of irony, Transport for London says: “Good service on the rest of the line.”
Staff shortages have been blamed for the cancellations elsewhere on the network.
Simon Calder December 16, 2022 12:25 pm
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Rail companies are reminding customers to plan around Christmas strikes
Train operators are reminding passengers traveling by train either side of Christmas to double-check that their journey is still open before the strikes.
Great Western Railway (GWR) posted: “Traveling via Bristol Parkway at Christmas? Due to planned maintenance works, trains will not stop on Bristol Parkway from Tuesday 27 to Saturday 31 December. Buses are planned to replace all trains on Bristol Parkway, Yate and Cam & Dursley.’
Lucy Thackray December 16, 2022 at 12:18 pm
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The railway minister is pushing for further talks to settle the strikes
In a surprise move, rail minister Hugh Merriman held talks with the RMT union and employers ahead of the latest strikes (Thursday 15 December).
The main rail union announced the news on its website on Thursday evening, saying: “The RMT rail union attended talks convened by rail minister Hugh Merriman this evening, including Network Rail and the Rail Delivery Group, and agreed to further discussions.”
Rail Delivery Group represents the 14 train operators in dispute with the RMT.
The union said “the minister has requested further talks between the RMT and employers to find solutions”.
But general secretary Mick Lynch warned that the planned 10 days of strikes between today and January 7 would go ahead.
“These meetings will be organized but in the meantime all strike action remains in place,” he said.
Simon Calder December 16, 2022 11:34 am
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Glasgow Airport closes runway due to snow and ice
As train passengers race to beat the 6.30pm deadline for the last services of the day, thousands of passengers who chose to fly to and from Glasgow Airport instead have been disrupted by the track closure.
Two British Airways flights were diverted to Prestwick Airport, 30 miles south, while Ryanair connections from Dublin and Krakow landed in Edinburgh. The morning KLM flight from Amsterdam to Glasgow also landed in the Scottish capital.
In a statement posted on its Twitter account, the airport’s communications team said: “Our winter crews have been deployed since midnight to clear the runway and taxiway areas of persistent snow and freezing rain.
“Passengers should continue to check with their airlines regarding the status of their flights.”
A subsequent response clarified: “Our runway is currently closed while we clear it of snow and ice. We will post updates as and when we have them.”
The airport’s online departures board shows 11 flights canceled since 08.20am, including departures to Dublin, Heathrow, Amsterdam and Lanzarote.
Simon Calder December 16, 2022 10:59 am
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At least 20% of passengers before the pandemic are missing from the railways
The scale of the fall in rail travel following the Covid pandemic was revealed in the latest figures from the Office for Rail and Road Transport (ORR) covering July, August and September.
Passengers made an average of 3.9 million journeys per day, down from 4.9 million in the same period in 2019 – a 20 percent drop.
But the ORR warns that the 2022 numbers may be overstated due to the growing practice of passengers buying “split tickets”.
Ticket splitting is a legitimate technique for exploiting the many anomalies in the national rail fare system. Between London and Bristol, for example, buying one ticket to Didcot Parkway and another from there saves £45 on an ‘anytime’ journey.
The ORR says: “Some train operators’ journeys may be overpriced due to the impact of passengers buying ‘split tickets’.
Simon Calder December 16, 2022 10:26 am
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Haynes disputed the “massive” strikes, saying thousands came to work
As the latest round of national rail strikes begins, there is now a dispute between the main union – the RMT – and Network Rail over how solid the latest shutdown was.
The RMT said the strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday (December 13-14) had “effectively shut down railways across the country”.
The union’s general secretary Mick Lynch said: “I congratulate RMT members who have shown tremendous dignity and fortitude during this 48-hour strike.
“They have shown how important their work is to the functioning of the economy and society as a whole.
“All they want is a negotiated agreement on job security, decent pay rises and good working conditions.
“And they are determined to continue their industrial campaign until an agreement is reached.”
But Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail, said: “Thousands of colleagues have refused to strike this week, instead coming to work to keep services running and Britain moving.
“It is time for the RMT chief executive to put the interests of its members first and end this dispute.
“Their unnecessary strike action is sabotaging the railway and will cost our employees dearly, their members.”
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haynes
(REUTERS)
Simon Calder December 16, 2022 10:08 am
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No “real negotiations” took place last night, says Mick Lynch
RMT Union general secretary Mick Lynch said “no real negotiations took place” during talks with rail minister Hugh Merriman last night, with “no new proposals on the table” from rail bosses.
“We had an exchange about what might be possible and some ways forward and ideas that all parties shared and the rail minister asked all parties to start further discussions over the next period,” Mr Lynch told Sky News from a station picket Euston.
“We will try to organize these meetings with the employers and see if we can develop some solutions to the problems that…
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