The UK is preparing for the largest strike of railway workers in 30 years

The management of the largest railway carrier said that there was practically no hope of avoiding the implementation of plans for a strike. According to experts, this protest action will be the largest in the last three decades. As noted by Andrew Haines, who heads Network Rail, passengers should refrain from traveling as much as possible or plan their movements around the country in advance.

First of all, rural and provincial railway lines may suffer from the consequences of the strike. The number of traffic will be reduced from 20 thousand on normal days to 4.5 thousand during the campaign. Several operators, including South Eastern and Northern Trains, have addressed residents with recommendations to refrain from traveling. In total, employees of 13 railway companies will not go to work these days.

It is assumed that 20% of the trains will run on major highways and in urban areas. However, there will be no passenger transportation at all in a significant area. In particular, the whole of Wales to the north-west of Cardiff may be cut off from railway traffic. There will be no trains going to the northern part of the island from Glasgow or Edinburgh.

According to Haines, the protest action initiated by the unions will cost the industry £150 million.

This will inevitably affect the wages of railway employees, which the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport) trade union is seeking to raise. They are unhappy with the freezing of payments and serious staff cuts.

According to trade union leader Mick Lynch, railway workers are experiencing a terrible attitude from the management of companies. People are faced with a rise in the cost of living, inflation of 11.1%. In these conditions, job loss is unacceptable.

The RMT Secretary General expects that the appearance on the streets of 50 thousand striking railway workers will be able to influence the government, which does not want to interfere in relations between employees and employers. Last week, Lynch wrote to Transport Minister Grant Shapps in the hope of holding a meeting to discuss the current situation in the industry.

Shapps, in turn, believes that strikes are a completely senseless and counterproductive way of fighting for their rights. Earlier, the minister recalled how during the pandemic, the authorities supported the railway, allocating about £16 billion for this purpose. At the same time, the average salary of railway workers has increased by 39% over the past decade, while the growth of police incomes over the same period was only 7%.

The situation with transportation is also aggravated by plans to stop the work of the subway.

London Underground workers will join the action. As stated by the management of TfL (the organization that manages all London transport), failures are expected in the network. Many stations are planned to be completely closed. First of all, it will affect South London and the central part of the British capital.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that the strike is scheduled for quite busy days when major sporting and cultural events are to take place in the country. It is planned to hold the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts next week, which is called the British equivalent of Woodstock. One of the main events in the musical life of Britain will begin on June 22.

Also next week, England will compete with New Zealand in a cricket match (June 23) in Leeds. The National Athletics Championships are to be held in Manchester (June 24 and 25). London's Hyde Park will be the venue for concerts by Sir Elton John (June 24) and The Rolling Stones (June 25). And this is not to mention the celebration of the Armed Forces Day and the holding of a meeting of the heads of government of the Commonwealth.