The fresh strikes come just one day after the first nurses’ walkout – the latest incident in the government’s winter of woe.
Today, train, bus, and highway workers in the United Kingdom have walked off the job in the ongoing conflict over wages and working conditions, causing further travel disruptions in some areas.
After failed negotiations on Thursday, the Rail, Maritime, and Transport union will commence another 48-hour strike on Friday.
The RMT stated that “additional conversations” had been agreed upon, but that “all industrial action continues in effect” in the meanwhile.
The union is embroiled in two disputes: one with Network Rail, where it represents approximately 20,000 signallers and maintenance workers, and another with the Rail Delivery Group, where it represents approximately 20,000 workers at 14 railway companies.
Members of both organizations will go on strike today and tomorrow, as well as on 3-4 and 6-7 January, with RMT members at Network Rail also going on strike from 6:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve to 6 a.m. on Christmas Day.
Network Rail TSSA (Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association) members decided on Thursday to accept a salary offer, whereas Avanti West Coast TSSA workers will continue their strike action today.
The whole rail network’s passengers have been urged not to travel.
Meanwhile, Abellio bus drivers in the south and west London will go on strike today and tomorrow in a disagreement over pay.
Their union, Unite, claims that Abellio has not engaged in “serious pay talks” regarding salary hikes and that its members are among the lowest-paid in London.
Their Metroline coworkers in the north and west London were scheduled to go on strike today, but they accepted an offer earlier this month that included an 11% wage raise and a 10% increase on back pay.
Members of the Public and Commercial Services union who work for National Highways will go on strike today in the North West, the North East, and Yorkshire, with further regions affected in the coming weeks.
The PCS stated that the workers plan, design, construct, run, and maintain the nation’s roadways and that the strikes threaten to “halt” the network.
Their issue involves compensation, pensions, employment security, and layoff terms.
National Highways reported that approximately 125 out of 1,500 frontline operational workers would participate in the strikes, or between 10 and 25 per region.
It stated, “We are working to ensure that any industrial action does not negatively influence the experience of road users, and we are confident that the impact of the strikes will be handled.”
As a result of inflation and other cost-of-living pressures, hundreds of thousands of workers are on strike this winter, including those in the rail, bus, and highway industries.
In addition, more than 900 Rural Payments Agency employees, DVSA employees in Scotland and Northern Ireland, and Eurostar security guards are on strike today.
The planned walkout by ground handlers employed by Menzies at Heathrow Airport today has been canceled.
