Mick Lynch says rail workers are treated as ‘out of fashion’ after Covid pandemic
Train passengers have been warned to “only travel by train if necessary” after rail operators closed 80 per cent of services and half of lines to make way for the 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union walking out for the third time this week over jobs, pay, pensions and conditions.
Despite many commuters having been able to avoid the disruption caused by strikes by working from home, fresh alerts have been issued over fears that many are reluctant to abandon leisure trips planned for Saturday regardless of the strikes.
On Friday, transport secretary Grant Shapps called on striking rail workers to call off its Saturday demonstration and accused the RMT Union of “damaging the lives of everyday hardworking people that they claim to represent.”
But its general secretary Mick Lynch said its members cannot accept the “thousands of railway workers being thrown on the scrapheap after being praised as heroes during Covid.
“RMT will continue its industrial campaign until a negotiated settlement is reached,” he said.
Do you support the rail strikes? Have your say
Half of Britain’s rail lines have been shut for two days with a third strike this week scheduled today during union strikes. And we want to know what you think and how you might be affected.
Click here to take part in our reader poll:
Stuti Mishra25 June 2022 07:30
Starmer stance on rail strikes ‘may end’ Labour party, union chief warns
A senior union leader has warned that Sir Keir Starmer’s handling of the railway strikes “may end” the Labour party.
Starmer has infuriated many on the left of the party by ordering Labour frontbenchers to stay away from picket lines during the RMT dispute which brought much of the UK’s rail network to a halt for a second day today.
The comment by Mick Whelan, general secretary of train drivers’ union Aslef and co-chair with Starmer of the Tulo organisation which co-ordinates union support for Labour, reflects the depth of the rift within the movement over the leader’s stance.
Read more from our political editor Andrew Woodcock here:
Stuti Mishra25 June 2022 07:00
Mick Lynch says rail workers now treated as ‘out of fashion’
Union boss Mick Lynch has said the government lauded rail workers as “heroes” during the Covid-19 pandemic, only to treat them as “out of fashion” now…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Independent Travel…