UK trains at a standstill as strikes trigger blame game

Rail workers have begun a series of strikes designed to cripple Britain’s transport system over the Christmas period, triggering a war of words with the government over who is to blame for the crisis.

Thousands of members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers are walking out on train companies across the country, alongside colleagues from another labor group, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association. They will strike Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday this week. Great Western Railway will be hit by a separate strike on Thursday.

Unions are holding out for steeper pay hikes after UK inflation exceeded 11%. They are also at odds with train companies and the government over proposed reforms to the rail network in light of changing commuter habits following the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I think the tide is turning on opinion on whether these offers are reasonable or not,” Transport Secretary Mark Harper told Sky News. “There isn’t a bottomless pit of money to go into the rail industry.”

The UK government insists that pay deals must be struck by companies or organizations that directly employ workers, and has blamed labor groups for walking away from talks and holding widespread strikes. Unions accuse ministers of stifling negotiations by imposing a limit on pay hikes.

Mick Lynch, the RMT’s general secretary, said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Grant Shapps — the former transport secretary, now business secretary — had interfered in pay disputes involving rail workers and other public sector staff.

“They are dictating what can be offered and what they’re offering isn’t good enough,” said Lynch, speaking at a picket line outside Euston station in London.

Christmas Protests

Unions remain at loggerheads with the UK’s train companies, which form part of separate negotiations from those with Network Rail. Talks are ongoing with train operating companies through the Rail Delivery Group, but John Leach, the RMT’s assistant general secretary, said the government was to blame. 

Train bosses “are being obstructed from settling the dispute with us by the government and political interference,” he told Bloomberg Radio.

Harper said earlier in the day that the detail of talks was down to train companies and unions, but accepted that the government sets “the overall amount of money available.” The strikes were discussed at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, after which the government repeated its argument that double-digit pay rises would cost £28 billion ($34 billion), or £1,000 per household.

RMT members will strike over Christmas after rejecting a pay offer from Network Rail on Monday night. There were some signs of a breakthrough, however, when the union Unite said that its members voted to accept the same offer, ending all its walkouts in December and January.

Unions said Network Rail’s offer comprised a 5% raise this year and 4% from January. The TSSA recommended its members accept the deal, saying it was the “best offer that can be achieved through negotiation” with the results of a vote due on Thursday.

Public Opinion

Polls by YouGov have shown 47% of the public opposed the rail strikes, yet 41% supported the workers. Voters are more likely to sympathize with nurses, who will walk out on Dec. 15 and 20 as part of their own protest over pay.

“People will be cross and angry that they haven’t got their services but many people are continuing to support us,” said Lynch. “We get messages of support.”

Pubs and restaurants are expecting as many as four in 10 bookings to be canceled, according to industry body UKHospitality, while shops are braced for lower sales.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey also weighed in on the row Tuesday. Bailey said there was an inflationary risk from “second-round effects, which come from both price setting and wage bargaining,” but added that it was sensible to give more money to low-paid workers who are most affected by the higher cost of living.