UK train strikes are set to continue through the late summer after a major union announced a further two days of industrial action amid a dispute with train operating companies over working conditions, job security and pay.
(Bloomberg) — UK train strikes are set to continue through the late summer after a major union announced a further two days of industrial action amid a dispute with train operating companies over working conditions, job security and pay.
The RMT union said Friday that 20,000 workers across 14 train operating companies will walk out on August 26 and September 2. Both days are a Saturday, making the action likely to have the most impact on people traveling for leisure.
Rail workers have been striking for more than a year as they push for pay rises closer to inflation that hit double digits for much of the past year, as well as guarantees on working conditions. Earlier this year, they turned down an offer that would have seen them awarded pay rises of 5% and 4% in average over successive years.
“Our members and our union will continue fighting until we can reach a negotiated and just settlement,” RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said in a statement posted on the union’s website.
The RMT agreed a deal with Network Rail, which runs the tracks, in March, but remains in dispute with train companies. The union said in its statement on Friday that the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the train operating companies, hasn’t submitted an improved or a revised offer to the union since the last deal was rejected.
Britain has seen disruption across multiple industries as high inflation fuels a cost-of-living crisis leaving public sector workers seeking improved pay deals. On Friday, junior doctors began a 4-day walkout with senior doctors due to take action later in the month to protest over a decade of pay erosion. Most other strikes have now died down, including those in the civil service, Royal Mail and schools.
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