Skip to main content

Biggest Train Workers Strike In Britain, Trains Grind To A Halt In Massive Action In 30 Years


LONDON — As tens of thousands of train workers went on strike Tuesday in the biggest such action in three decades, the British commute turned into a slog for millions of people.

With trains idled across England, Scotland and Wales, travelers packed the highways, sought out scarce taxis and looked for buses. A lot of Britons took to rental bicycles.

With 80 percent of trains canceled and 40,000 workers out on strike, some lines were completely shut down, and usually bustling central stations were nearly empty.

The London Underground — also known as “the Tube” — was also mostly closed because of another strike.

Tuesday’s action was the first of three rail strikes planned this week. More misery is scheduled for Thursday and Saturday.

The maintenance crews, ticket takers and conductors — represented by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union — reached an impasse with their bosses at Network Rail in a fight over pay, pensions, job security and working conditions.

Network Rail said it was “profoundly sorry” for the disruption. Negotiations continue, the union says.

British union leaders are threatening a “summer of discontent,” as more workers could go on strike to demand pay increases to cope with surging inflation and a rising cost of living.

Unions representing bus drivers, teachers, nursing home workers, trash collectors, doctors, nurses, mail carriers and airport baggage handlers may join future strikes.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, in public remarks to his cabinet Tuesday, condemned the strikers for causing “disruption and inconvenience up and down the country, making it more difficult for people to get to work, risking people’s health appointments and making it challenging for kids to sit exams.”

Johnson called the strikes “wrong and unnecessary.” He said the government spent $20 billion during the pandemic to keep the railways operating and urged “union bosses” to find a compromise with the railway companies and end the strike.

Source: Washington Post

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

GIST!

DJ Cuppy wants a special birthday gift from Elon Musk, who recently acquired Twitter.  A message to the World's richest man, Elon Musk from Nigerian disc jockey and music producer, Florence Ifeoluwa Otedola, professionally known as DJ Cuppy, or simply Cuppy below; Cuppy @cuppymusic · Follow It’s my 30th birthday soon! 11/11 So @ElonMusk can you pretty please gift me one free month ($7.99) of #TwitterBlue ??? After this, I promise to keep up with payments forever and ever and everrrrrrrr #CuppyDat 10:06 PM · Nov 9, 2022 14K Reply Share

23 children and 54 Others Camped In A Church, In Ondo State, Rescued By The Police

The Ondo State Police Command said a total of 77 people were found locked in the basement of a church; Whole Bible Deliverance Church located at Valentino Area of Ondo town, Ondo State, reports the Punch News. The police said that the victims comprised 23 kids and 54 others including teenagers and adults, males and females. It was alleged that the victims were kidnapped and kept in the underground apartment of the church for over six months before they were rescued. The church’s pastor and some other members are currently in the custody of the command while the police had begun investigation into the matter In a one-minute, 40 seconds video, a voice was heard saying, “There are kidnapped children found in the underground cell of a church in Valentino Area of Ondo. The pastor and some members of the church have been arrested and were also in the police patrol van.’’ One of the parents of the rescued victims, Mr Michael Olorunyomi, said that he left the church because of alleged wrong Bi...

In a Flash - Nigerian News Dailies

  The Nation  ● Two soldiers, five others killed as gunmen attack Soludo’s hometown. No fewer than six  persons were  feared killed in Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s Isuofia community, as gunmen engaged security operatives in a gun battle. Those who were said to have lost their lives in the community in  Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State were two soldiers and four gunmen. The incident, The Nation was told, took place on Saturday morning in Soludo’s Isuofia community.  ● Democrats retain control of U.S. Senate. Despite some very tight races, Democrats have held on to their slim majority in the U.S. Senate. Punch  ● Debate: Presidential candidates lambast FG for corruption, insecurity. The presidential candidates of the African Action Congress, Omoyele Sowore; Action Democratic Party, Yabagi Sani; Social Democratic Party, Adewole Adebayo; and the All Progressives Grand Alliance, Mr Peter Umeadi, on Sunday night promised to retool the security arc...