Huge disruption as biggest rail strike in 30 years gets underway
The strikes mean significant disruption on lines across England, Wales and Scotland
The biggest rail strike in 30 years is taking place today and causing significant travel disruption after unions and rail bosses failed to reach an agreement over pay and conditions.
Strikes are also planned for Thursday and Saturday over pay, jobs and conditions as rail workers look for a 7% rise in wages to keep up with inflation.
Services across the UK were affected from yesterday evening, with just one in five trains running on strike days, primarily on main lines and only for around 11 hours.
Which train staff are going on strike?
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, with only around one in five trains running and disruption to services on days following the action.
The RMT and Unite is also holding a 24-hour walkout on London Underground which will cause huge disruption to the Tube.
Why are train staff striking?
General secretary of the RMT Mick Lynch said: “The rail companies have now proposed pay rates that are massively under the relevant rates of inflation, coming on top of the pay freezes of the past few years.
“At the behest of the Government, companies are also seeking to implement thousands of job cuts and have failed to give any guarantee against compulsory redundancies.”
The RMT said rail companies were “attacking” the Railway Pension Scheme and the Transport for London scheme, diluting benefits, making staff work longer and making them poorer in retirement, while having to pay increased contributions.
The union said thousands of jobs were being cut across the rail network with no guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.
Officials also claimed working practices were being changed and disputes over the role and responsibility of the guard were being restarted.
Ticket office closures were also being planned, said the RMT.
Government response
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."
Boris Johnson's condemned the strikes and is calling for a "sensible compromise".
The Prime Minister is due to meet his top team this morning to discuss walkouts and public-sector pay.
How much are rail workers paid?
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) categorised rail workers into four groups. Rail travel assistants, which include ticket collectors, guards and information staff, they earn a median income of ÂŁ33,310.
Rail construction and maintenance operatives earn a median income of £34,988 and rail transport operatives, signallers and driver’s assistants earn a median income of £48,750. Finally, train drivers are the highest earners according to the ONS earning a median income of £59,189.
Train drivers, who are represented by the union ASLEF, will not be taking part in the strike.
Limited services this week
Britain's train operators have released plans for how their services will be altered during this week's rail strikes. Rail workers are walking out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, over pay and conditions dispute but there will also be disruption on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
Avanti West Coast will be running a limited service of around a quarter of the normal timetable will operate, and only between 8am and 6pm. A number of routes will not be served, such as to North Wales, Stoke and Edinburgh.
The operator has suspended ticket sales for travel between Tuesday and Sunday to "help reduce disruption and overcrowding". It will operate fewer than a third of normal services, only between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
National Rail has a revised train timetable which can be found here.