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U.K. Train Strikes Bring More Summer Disruptions


LONDON – Train travel in the UK came to a near halt on Thursday, after tens of thousands of rail workers walked away over a pay dispute, the latest layoff in a summer marked by state of affairs. labor unrest and sweltering heat.

This is the sixth rail strike since June, with walkouts extending into Saturday in some places during the peak summer travel season. Friday’s strike will target transport in London.

A series of failed negotiations between rail companies and unions meant that only about a fifth of regular trains run, leaving some places with no rail service at all. according to Network Rail, a company that manages the country’s rail system. Travelers are advised to make their journey only if necessary.

The walk appeared when England was going through Consumer prices increase fastest Over the past four decades, fears of a cost-of-living crisis have intensified as goods and services, including essentials, are becoming more expensive.

Inflation in the UK rose in July to 10.1 percent, the government said on Wednesdaycompared with last year – and economists say the worst is yet to come, predicting a peak in the fall ahead of warnings that households will experience massive increases in energy bills.

“It really only spiked during the summer months,” said Xiaowei Xu, a senior research economist at the Institute of Financial Research, a research institute. “People quite worried about what’s to come. ”

Although wages have increased, it has lagged behind prices when adjusted for inflation. Wage growth in the transportation sector has lagged behind the economy as a whole, Ms. Xu said, adding that it is easy for workers to find other work and gain leverage at this time.

However, policymakers remain worried that inflation will persist as workers negotiate higher wages and companies raise the prices of goods and services to keep up.

That three-day strike has stranded travelers between cities and tied London’s streets to cars and bikes as commuters take detours that sometimes extend their journeys. their usual commute to work.

The government has refused to intervene directly in the strikes. But on Wednesday, officials criticized union leaders, accusing them of using the strikes to avoid reforming a system they call inefficient, including using technology to complete the work that the employee used to do.

Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, writes: “We must make it harder for unionists to secure well-paying and safe jobs than to be victimized by other workers much less fortunate – For example, preventing them from going to work. Daily mail. He added on Twitter that the government had a plan to “rebalance labor relations in favor of the public.”

A proposal to raise wages for railroad workers was rejected because it was not in line with inflation, the main rail union, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, which represents more than 50,000 workers. workers on strike this week said.

The union also said that railway companies had threatened to take severance measures if workers did not agree to go on strike.

“We cannot tolerate being bullied or tricked into accepting a rough deal for our members,” said Mick Lynch, general secretary of the union.

Network Rail called the strike action “unnecessary” and said it was disappointed when unions rejected a so-called “good and fair” offer, pointing out that revenue from traveling passengers still lower than pre-pandemic levels.

According to estimates from the Office for National Statistics in May, rail workers, including drivers, earn an average salary of £43,747 or around $52,600 in 2021, although that average has already drops to £36,800, or about $44,250 when excluding the driver’s salary.





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