Rail strikes: Commuters choose to WFH as 9,000 train drivers walkout
What rail chaos? Commuters mock unions after avoiding worst of day-long strike by choosing to work from home – as 9,000 train drivers walkout in row over pay and conditions
- Commuters thanked unions for striking and said it is ‘bliss’ to be able to work from home on Wednesday
- Others questioned the effectiveness of the industrial action if people can take their laptops home with them
- Some 9,000 train drivers have walked out today in a long-running row over pay, jobs and conditions
- Further rail strikes are planned for Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week by the RMT and TSSA unions
Commuters have avoided the worst of planned strike disruption today with many choosing to work from home as 9,000 train drivers walkout in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Some workers reveled in the fact they would be able to work from home thanks to the mass disruption, with one joking that it was ‘bliss’ to be able to skip the morning commute.
Meanwhile, others questioned the effectiveness of the industrial action if people can take their laptops home with them and work remotely – while companies say home working arrangements lessens disruption.
It comes as members of the drivers’ union Aslef and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) walked out on Wednesday, causing huge disruption to services across the railway network.
Picket lines were mounted outside railway stations as union leaders warned that the long-running dispute remains deadlocked.
Aslef announced that its members working on the Croydon Tramlink have rejected a pay offer and will strike on October 10 and 11.
Brits are being hit with more travel chaos on Wednesday as staff walk off the job as part of the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and work conditions
Commuters have avoided the worst of planned strike disruption today with many choosing to work from home as 9,000 train drivers walkout in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions
Speaking at a picket line outside Euston station, Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said ‘only the Government’ can solve the dispute.
The leader of the train drivers’ union said there were no further meetings scheduled with transport secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, but that he looked forward to trying to ‘find a solution together’.
Mr Whelan added that he had found the new Transport Secretary ‘very welcoming’ in a recent meeting with her and that she had listened to the case put across by union leaders.
He also added that he would ‘talk to anybody at any time to resolve this situation’.
However, he said Prime Minister Liz Truss was not getting ‘the mood music of the country’ over the cost-of-living crisis.
‘She’s not listening to the teachers that are leaving the profession because they can’t afford it. She’s not listening to the nurses that are leaving in droves because it’s better for them to work elsewhere than in the NHS.
‘Only the Government can correct this and we ask them to do so.’
Signs detailing the strike action were put up in stations across London on Saturday, warning of disruptions later in the week
Aslef general secretary Mick Whelan said the dispute would continue until the Government intervened
Members of the Aslef union are striking today as the row between rail workers and bosses over pay continues
RMT union boss Mick Lynch said there was now a ‘different mood and a different face’ to the Government, but that it was ‘too early to say’ whether it will lead to progress in negotiations between transport unions and rail companies.
The general secretary of the RMT recently met new Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, along with other union leaders.
Mr Lynch, who was speaking at an Aslef picket line outside Euston station on Wednesday morning, said it was ‘too early to say’ whether the change of minister would lead to progress in the dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
‘There’s definitely a different mood and a different face to the Government but you only find out whether there’s a real change when you get around the negotiating table.’
Mr Lynch said negotiations with the rail companies were continuing this week but union leaders had ‘not seen anything tangible besides a handshake and a cup of tea at this stage’.
While today’s strike is by the train drivers’ union, Aslef, Mr Lynch said he would attend picket lines, ahead of an RMT strike on Saturday, as it was important ‘that all unions show solidarity to each other’.
Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan, speaking to the BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme this morning, indicated that she now sees ‘more clearly’ the perspective of the railway workers after meeting with Mr Whelan and RMT general secretary Mick Lynch.
Workers at the Asleft picket line outside Reading station in Berkshire this morning as the strike affects millions of people
Stations are deserted across the country as passengers are hit by rail strikes yet again. Pictured: London Bridge Station
Paddington Station is deserted as millions of passengers are impacted by the latest round of strikes
Passengers pile out of one of the trains still running as around 9,000 trains drivers from the Aslef union stage a walk out
She said she met the pair ‘because I really wanted to understand where they’re coming from’.
The union’s London officer, Finn Brennan, said: ‘The management’s offer of 4.75% is far below the current rate of inflation and would mean our members face real-terms pay cuts.’
The workers have already staged two 48-hour strikes in the dispute.
The train drivers’ strike will affect Avanti West Coast, Chiltern, CrossCountry, East Midlands Trains, Greater Anglia (including Stansted Express), Great Western, Hull Trains, LNER, London Overground, Northern Trains, Southeastern, Transpennine Express and West Midlands Trains.
Members of the TSSA will strike at CrossCountry and take other forms of industrial action at several other operators.
The TSSA is also planning industrial action on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at more than a dozen train companies and Network Rail will strike on Saturday.
Passengers are advised to check before they travel on Wednesday and allow extra time for their journey.
Train companies not involved in the strike will be running trains, but these are expected to be busy.
The platform at Hartlebury station in Worcestershire was empty this morning as rail strikes took effect with some 9,000 train drivers from the Aslef union walking out in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions
The strikes will cause chaos for rail passengers as services get back up and running after repeated walkouts
Some services have been shut down altogether as passengers seek alternative ways to travel
Rock stars record single in support of striking rail workers
Music stars are recording a song in support of railway workers embroiled in a bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie and Andrew Innes, Dexys Midnight Runners stars Kevin Rowland and Sean Read, and Jesus and Mary Chain bassist Douglas Hart have joined forces to produce a song and a video.
They are working on the song, called Enough Is Enough, to highlight their backing for strikes by rail workers and against austerity.
Kevin Rowland said the Rail, Maritime and Transport union’s battle for workplace justice had been an inspiration for millions of people.
‘RMT has been leading the way on behalf of working people and now other unions are joining the fight against low pay and this Government that is trying to screw working people into the ground,’ he said.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch will make a guest appearance on the track, with some of his now famous responses to questions from the media.
‘My union is thrilled that musical legends such as Primal Scream and Dexys and others want to support workers in struggle,’ he said.
‘It shows the growing amount of support for social justice and the fact that trade unions are the only thing that stand in the way of endless austerity and poverty.’
The song will be released at the end of October.
Source: PA
Services are likely to be disrupted into the early morning of Thursday as workers return to duties.
The disruption will affect football fixtures and the final day of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.
Daniel Mann, director of industry operations at the Rail Delivery Group, said: ‘These strikes disrupt the travel plans of millions of passengers and undermine businesses who continue to struggle with rising costs and this continued action will only further damage the railway’s recovery.
‘While some rail companies are not involved in the strike, services are likely to be busy, severely disrupted or in some cases not running, so passengers should check the latest travel advice before setting off.
‘Passengers with advance, off-peak or anytime tickets affected by the strikes on 5 October can use their ticket on the day before the booked date, or up to and including 7 October.
‘Passengers can also change their tickets to travel on an alternate date or get a refund if their train is cancelled or rescheduled.’
TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: ‘We saw only last weekend that our strike action was rock-solid across the country. Our brilliant members remain determined to see their demands met in the shape of a just settlement.
‘We do not strike lightly but are prepared to dig in as we seek a fair deal on pay, job security and conditions in the face of cuts, economic collapse and a cost-of-living crisis at the hands of this chaotic Tory government.
‘With more strikes and wider industrial action in the offing this week, it’s time for ministers to get wise and act now to deliver a fair deal which will halt a winter of rail misery across the network.’
A Department for Transport spokesperson said: ‘It is incredibly disappointing that for the second time in five days we face disruption on our railways, with businesses once again being affected, thousands of people at risk of being unable to travel to work or school, and doctors’ appointments being missed.
‘Our railway is in desperate need of modernisation but all more strikes will do is punish the very people unions claim to stand up for and push passengers further away.
‘We urge union bosses to reconsider this divisive action and instead work with their employers, not against them, to agree a new way forward.’
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