Only 1 in 5 trains will remain in circulation as railway workers begin strike days

Only one in five trains across Britain set to unfold on Thursday as railway workers go on strike in a dispute over wages and conditions.

Tens of thousands of railway, subway and bus workers stage walkouts in the second half of this week with continued disruption expected to last through the weekend.

On Thursday, workers at 14 rail operators and infrastructure manager Network Rail - represented by unions RMT, TSSA and Unite - will exit.

Their action is expected to result in the cancellation of four-fifths of trains and the complete closure of half of lines - the remaining services will not operate. ing only between 7.30am and 6.30pm.

The ripple effects of this strike are expected to continue until Friday morning, when staff on the London Underground and some bus lines represented by the RMT and Unite will also go on strike.

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Then on Saturday, Network Rail and Rail Operating Company workers will leave again, along with the bus drivers, who will leave.< /p>

Workers want wages to keep pace with inflation and resist job cuts.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch says Network Rail "has only brought no improvement on his previous salary offer and that the railway operating companies offered us nothing new."

He accused the government of having "secret negotiations" with the bosses of Tube about "cutting costs by cutting jobs and undermining working conditions" garlic and pensions".

"Network Rail is also threatening to impose mandatory layoffs and dangerous 50% reductions in maintenance work if we don't withdraw the strike.

"Railway operating companies have put driver-only operations on the table with h trashing our members' terms and conditions."

TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes said his rail industry members were entering the third or fourth year of a wage freeze.

"Meanwhile, food and fuel bills are skyrocketing, and the Tories' cost of living crisis is impoverishing working people. Enough is enough - it can't go on" , he added.

< p>"For many of our members, this is the first time they have taken industrial action - it's a last resort and it's not something that a railroad worker takes lightly."

Mr. Cortes added: "Railway workers have put their lives on the line to keep the country going in the pandemic and have been rightly hailed as heroes. Yet now conservatives are obstructing negotiations and preventing employers from making a bid. reasonable to those same railroad workers.

"Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps and the Department of Transportation must make a reasonable offer on wages and job security - either by coming to the table themselves or allowing employers to negotiate freely. The tendentious and blocking negotiations must end.

“This dispute is not going away. Thousands of railroad workers across the country are taking real pay cuts as inflation soars and the cost of living continues to rise.

"We won't back down until our members get the pay, conditions and job security they deserve."

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Speaking before the final stop, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: 'It is clear from their coordinated approach that the unions are determined to cause as much misery as possible for the same taxpayers who have paid £600 per household to ensure no railway workers lose their jobs during the pandemic.

"Unfortunately, union leaders have a short memory and will pay for this act of good faith by ruining the summer plans of millions of hardworking workers.

"Businesses will suffer too, with the capital's leisure and tourism sectors, which relied on this summer trade, set to lose millions - a particularly cruel blow given the hard work many have worked to stay afloat through successive lockdown summers . two days this week due to unnecessary strikes when we should be helping them enjoy their summers.