UK trains disrupted in second massive rail strike in a week – Times of India

London: about 5,000 train drivers in a quarter BritainThe rail network went on strike on Saturday as part of a campaign for higher wages after the country’s inflation rate hit a 40-year high.
The 24-hour strike organized by train drivers union ASLEF is the second significant industrial crackdown on Britain’s rail network this week, after 40,000 members of the RMT and TSSA unions – which represent other rail workers – went on a major strike on Wednesday.
Rising inflation – consumer price inflation currently stands at 9.4% – and low wage growth have exacerbated labor stress in all sectors, including the postal services, health, schools, airports and the judiciary.
The rail strike on Saturday and Sunday morning was expected to cause “significant disruption” throughout the day, according to Network Rail, which runs Britain’s rail infrastructure.
Almost all services were canceled on seven of the country’s 34 train operators, including regional networks for Southeast and Eastern England as well as long-distance lines connecting London to south-west England, north-east England and Edinburgh.
UK train services are mostly run by foreign state-owned rail companies on a for-profit basis, receiving short-term contracts and operating subsidies from the government. Those subsidies ballooned as travelers stayed home during the Covid-19 pandemic.
ASLEF Secretary General Mick whelan Said franchise agreements typically provided for only a 2% pay increase for drivers.
“At this time of cost of life crisis, we believe this catch-22 situation cannot last,” Whelan reported. BBC radio.
Steve Montgomery, managing director of rail operator First Rail and president of Industry-Wide Rail Distribution GroupSaid that the operators will give a big pay hike only if the train drivers agree to the change in the way of working, which will save money.
“We’re not asking people to ‘work longer’, but to be more productive in the number of hours they currently have,” he said.
The ASLEF plans to hold another one-day strike on August 13.