Faced with high inflation, the British mobilization continues. After a first walkout by railway workers on Thursday and a strike in the London Underground on Friday, transport in the United Kingdom was again affected on Saturday August 20 by a one-day strike for wage increases.
In the middle of the school holidays, only about one in five trains are running on Saturday because of this strike at the call of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT), Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite unions, which are demanding a wage increase adapted to the increase in the cost of living.
Negotiations with the multitude of private rail operators in the sector have so far stalled. The Minister of Transport, Grant Shapps, accused of blocking the situation, for his part criticizes the trade unions for refusing reforms to modernize the rail and assured, Friday, that he could pass in force.
Saturday’s strike disrupts the movement of tourists, football fans going to matches and festival-goers in particular. It should also affect train traffic on Sunday morning.
Post and ports also on strike
The United Kingdom is currently experiencing a new salvo of massive walkouts affecting in particular transport, post and ports. It is the biggest strike in decades against inflation, which reached 10.1% over one year in July and could exceed 13% in October, the highest level of a G7 country.
On Sunday, dockworkers at the port of Felixstowe (east of England) – the most important for freight in the country – start an eight-day strike, threatening to shut down much of the country’s freight traffic.
On the rail side, Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT, said the strikers had public support, saying: they are “just behind us”. “I think the British public are tired of being ripped off by this government and by British businesses, with companies like BP and British Gas making huge profits while people are struggling to make a living”he said on Saturday on the BBC.
While the walkouts of the railway workers have continued in episodes since June, for lack of a salary agreement, Mick Lynch assured to continue to seek “solutions” but judged ” very probable “ the prospect of new strikes.
