More rail strikes as talks fail

RMT members are walking out for another 48 hours

Author: Jon BurkePublished 16th Dec 2022

Railway workers are starting a fresh strike, after talks failed to resolve a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will walk out for 48 hours, affecting services across the country.

Meanwhile, ministers have been warned that industrial action by NHS nurses could escalate, unless pay concerns were addressed.

The latest rail stoppage will hit 14 companies and Network Rail.

Passengers are being urged to only travel if necessary.

Services will start later and finish earlier, with some areas having no trains.

A meeting was held yesterday but failed to break the deadlock.

The RMT said: "RMT attended talks convened by the rail minister Huw Merriman tonight (Thursday) including Network Rail and the Rail Delivery Group and agreed to further discussions."

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that the minister requested further talks between the RMT and the employers in order to find resolutions.

"These meetings will be arranged but, in the meantime, all industrial action remains in place," he said.

Mr Merriman argued that there is "clearly an appetite amongst the workers themselves to strike a deal" after the TSSA union accepted a pay offer from Network Rail.

The walkout follows two days of RMT strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday and is the latest strike in a winter of woe for the Government, which is being blamed for a series of industrial disputes.

Yesterday, nurses in England, Wales and Northern Ireland went on strike in the Royal College of Nursing's first national action.

RCN leader Pat Cullen warned that action by nurses would escalate unless ministers were prepared to get around the table and negotiate in the dispute over pay and conditions.

The RCN has argued that low wages are driving "chronic understaffing" which puts patients at risk and leaves nurses overworked, underpaid and undervalued, but ministers have refused to discuss salaries, insisting that should be left to independent pay review bodies.

Thursday's action involved about a quarter of hospitals and community teams in England and the RCN warned it could go further if the Government continues to hold out.

Ms Cullen told BBC's Question Time: "We started today with 46 organisations. And why did we do that? We did that because we wanted to make sure that we manage this strike safely and effectively for every patient, the people that I'm speaking with here tonight in this room, and every other patient in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.

"As time moves on - unfortunately if this Government doesn't speak to us and doesn't get into a room - I'm afraid that this will escalate."

The cost of living crisis is affecting many:

Interest rates and inflation go up

Inflation rose by 8.8% in the 12 months to January 2023, down from 9.2% in December 2022. With interest rates also rising to 4%, those saving money will earn more interest on their finances, whilst those paying mortgages would pay more interest to the bank.

Energy bills

The price of energy went up incredibly as the cost of living crisis hit, with the gas price spike caused largely by the war in Ukraine. The price cap - which is set by an independent regulator to help offset costs onto customers - was set to rise to £3,549 for an average home in October but a price freeze from the government restricted the typical bill to £2,500. That's still an increase of 27% from the previous energy cap and as it's a cap on unit cost, the more energy you use the higher your bill will be.

Food prices

The cost of a weekly shop also has gone up as a result of the cost of living crisis. As a result of the war in Ukraine, a number of products including cooking oils and wheat have been disrupted. This means that several products are now considerably more expensive, driving bills up for customers.

Prices at the pumps

The average cost of petrol has also rose to unprecedented levels. Supply lines for petrol have been thrown into doubt as a result of the war in Ukraine, as Russia is a large export partner for gas, oil and fuel. In April 2022, the average price for a litre of petrol on the forecourt was 160.2p, whilst a litre of diesel would cost 170.5p. By late June 2022 the price had risen to an average of 190.9p for a litre of unleaded and 198.9p for a litre of diesel. In March 2023 the price wass on average of 147.03 in petrol and 167.04 in diesel.

Average cost of filling up a car with petrol hits £100

On 9th June 2022, the average cost of filling up a car with petrol hit £100 for the first time ever. Diesel had already hit that milestone. It comes as the cost of fuel hit a record high of one pound eighty a litre. The 2p rise was the biggest daily jump in 17 years. Prices have dropped by at least 20p per litre since the high point.

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