Rail commuters urged not to travel due to strike action
Travel disruption is expected across TfL and National Rail services
Commuters are being urged not to travel tomorrow, Tuesday 21 June, until the mid-morning of Wednesday 22 June, as Rail and Tube strike action continues.
Transport for London (TfL) is encouraging people not to use the tube during these times, unless absolutely necessary, in response to RMT and Unite unions planned industrial action.
This call comes ahead of a week of travel disruption across the country, which will impact London Underground, Overground and Elizabeth line services between 21 and 26 June.
Union leaders have accused the Government of "inflaming" tensions over the rail dispute ahead of several days of travel chaos because of train and Tube strikes.
Who is striking and when?
Striking action will cause disruption to services on the railways and London Underground from Tuesday, it comes as a result of the biggest walkout in the industry for more than 30 years in a row over pay, jobs and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail (NR) and 13 train operators will strike on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday this week.
Fewer than one in five trains will run, and only on main lines and only for around 11 hours, starting later and finishing earlier, disruption is expected on days following the action to.
The RMT and Unite is also holding a 24-hour walkout on London Underground which will cause huge disruption to the Tube.
Other unions are also taking industrial action or balloting for strikes, including Transport Salaried Staffs Association and the drivers’ union Aslef.
Why are the strikes happening?
Strikes taking place nationally across rail networks are over pay and working conditions.
The industrial action that's happening on the London Underground is due to a row over pensions and jobs.
The railways are proposing to make efficiency savings, especially as fewer passengers are travelling by train because of the pandemic, which has led to more people working from home.
Unions like RMT and Unite are arguing that many of their members worked throughout the virus crisis and were hailed as 'Covid heroes' but now face job cuts, changes to their working conditions and pay rises well below the rate of inflation following years of wage freezes.
There have been talks to try and resolve the dispute, talks continued until today, Monday 20 June, involving senior RMT and rail industry officials.
Efficiency savings the industry wants largely revolve around the use of new technology, such as drones to check on railway tracks rather than having workers walk along lines.
How many people are likely to lose their job?
Unions believe between 2,000 and 2,500 jobs are at risk.
Pay offers of around 2.5% have been made during talks with Network Rail, although nothing has been formally tabled by the train operators.
The unions point to the 11% rate of RPI inflation, although they have not formally put a figure on their demands.
Will there be more Rail and Tube strikes?
There is due to be more strike action across Rail and Tube services, members of Aslef on the Croydon Tramlink will stage a 48-hour walkout next week, and more strikes are likely if there is not a breakthrough.
Thousands of RMT members voted overwhelmingly in favour of strikes, while similar outcomes are expected among TSSA and Aslef members currently being balloted.
What if I can’t avoid travel?
Transport for London said, “If customers cannot avoid travelling on 21 June, they should expect severe disruption across the transport network, plan ahead and leave more time for journeys.
“They should complete journeys by 18:00, with Elizabeth line customers travelling between Paddington and Reading, and Shenfield and Liverpool Street advised to complete their journeys by 16:00.
“Customers are encouraged to avoid making journeys on 22 June until mid-morning, and encouraged to walk and cycle if they can.”
An enhanced bus service will run during the strike period but will be very busy, with queues expected.
TfL urge unions to call off the strike
Andy Lord, TfL’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “I want to apologise to our customers for the impact these strikes will have on their journeys.
“The strike on the London Underground has been timed by the RMT and Unite unions to cause maximum disruption to our millions of customers by coinciding with strike action on national rail services.
“Additional strikes on national rail services next week will also have an impact on London Underground, Overground and Elizabeth line services because of shared track and assets, TfL customers are therefore advised to plan ahead and leave more time for their journeys next week.
"This strike is particularly frustrating as it comes so soon after industrial action earlier this month, no changes have been proposed to pensions and nobody has or will lose their job as a result of the proposals we have set out.
We're urging the RMT and Unite to call off this strike – my message to them is that it’s not too late to work with us to find a resolution and avoid the huge disruption this action will cause."
Why haven’t the government been involved?
The government haven’t been involved in any negotiations, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said it is up to the unions and employers to negotiate pay and conditions, but Labour and the unions believe he should be taking part in the talks.
Grant Shapps said the RMT had been "gunning" for industrial action for weeks and accused it of "punishing" millions of "innocent people" who will be affected by the strikes.
"Of course, it is a reality that if we can't get these railways modernised, if we can't get the kind of efficiency that will mean that they can work on behalf of the travelling public, then of course it is jeopardising the future of the railway itself”, he said.
‘Government accused of inflaming tensions’
The TUC (Trades Union Congress) is calling on the Westminster government to adopt a positive role in the dispute, saying it was "inflaming tensions" with comments such as threatening to "revoke" workers' legal rights.
The TUC said ministers in Westminster were insisting on imposing cuts and planning to change the law so that employers can draft in agency workers in during industrial action, which it added was reminiscent of the action recently taken by P&O.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "The Government has the power to help end this dispute but rather than working in good faith to find a negotiated settlement, ministers are inflaming tensions and trying to pitch worker against worker.
"Instead of threatening to do a P&O on these workers and rip up their rights, ministers should be getting people around the table to help agree a fair deal."
Ms O'Grady said nobody takes strike action lightly but maintained that rail staff have been left with "no other option".
"Many rail staff who will be hit hardest - such as caterers and cleaners - are on low and average earnings, It's insulting to ask them to take yet another real-terms pay cut when rail companies took £500 million in profits during the pandemic.”
‘Strikes should be the last resort’
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Strikes should always be the last resort, not the first, so it is hugely disappointing and premature that the RMT is going ahead with industrial action.
"The Government committed £16 billion - or £600 per household - to keep our railways running throughout the pandemic while ensuring not a single worker lost their job.
"The railway is still on life support, with passenger numbers 25% down and anything that drives away even more of them risks killing services and jobs.
"Train travel for millions more people is now a choice, not a necessity. Strikes stop our customers choosing rail and they might never return."
Rail Delivery Group chairman Steve Montgomery said talks will continue on Monday, adding: "We do want to offer them something but we have to have reform.
"There is room for compromise. We have got to work together, but we can resolve it, this is resolvable."
A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: "We are acutely aware of the cost-of-living pressures being felt by workers and families across the UK.
"But, as an industry we have to change our ways of working and improve productivity to help pay our own way - the alternatives of asking taxpayers to shoulder the burden or passengers to pay higher fares when they too are feeling the pinch simply isn't fair."
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