Train strikes - live: PM ‘whipping up divisions’ ahead of rail disruptions, Khan says
Passengers have been warned not to travel by train during the disruption next week
BigThink
Passengers have been warned not to travel by train during the disruption next week
Grant Shapps urges rail workers not strike 'under basic lie'
Sadiq Khan has accused the government of “inciting” next week's Tube strike.
The London Mayor claimed that Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps were “whipping up” division with the Transport for London funding deal.
He said: “The Tories are in government and this is classic deflecting from Shapps and Johnson who are responsible for this divisive politics, for whipping up them versus us, communities versus workers.”
It comes as more railway workers are to be balloted for strikes in escalating disputes over pay and jobs, increasing the threat of a summer of travel chaos.
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) served notice to ballot hundreds of workers at Southeastern, saying it was demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living.
Further action could add to the three days of strikes scheduled on 21, 23 and 25 June.
GCSE and A-Level pupils told to look for alternate travels means during strike
Families of pupils sitting GCSE and A-level exams next week have been advised to make alternative arrangements for getting to school during the rail strikes.
On 21 June, pupils sitting GCSE history or dance with exam board AQA may be impacted by the strikes, while on Thursday those sitting GCSE physics papers could be affected.
A-level pupils studying German, religious studies or maths with this board could be impacted by strike action on Tuesday, 21 while pupils sitting papers in A-level chemistry could experience disruptions to their journey to school on Thursday, 23 June.
In total, 17 GCSE and 22 A-level papers could be impacted by the strike action.
Headteachers have said families should look into alternative arrangements for getting their children to school to sit papers on time.
Julie McCulloch, policy director at the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “We are concerned about the potential impact on exam students of the industrial action affecting train services planned in June.
“The majority of students live local to schools and colleges and tend to take buses rather than trains so we are hopeful that the impact will be minimal," she added.
“However, it is important that families are conscious of the industrial action and make alternative arrangements where students are reliant on train services.
“We would urge anybody who is concerned about their ability to attend an exam to talk to their school or college at the earliest opportunity to discuss the options that are available.”
Thomas Kingsley17 June 2022 15:37
East Midlands train service to be disrupted significantly next week
Strike action is likely to disrupt rail services in the East Midlands significantly next week, operators have said.
Local and mainline services in the East Midlands will be affected.
East Midlands Railway (EMR) said the number of services would be significantly reduced. It said trains would run between 7.30am and 6.30pm only, with one per hour between Nottingham and London.
It said its regional services also would be limited to one train per hour between Derby and Matlock, Derby and Nottingham, Leicester and Nottingham, and Nottingham and Sheffield.
Will Rogers, managing director for EMR said: "We are extremely disappointed the RMT have decided to strike.
“There will be changes to our normal timetable and some parts of our network will have no train services on strike days and other lines will have a reduced level of service.”
Thomas Kingsley17 June 2022 14:58
How can I get to Glastonbury?
In a rough twist of fate, after two summers cancelled due to Covid-19, Glastonbury Festival falls the same week as an intense series of UK-wide train strikes.
It comes after members of the RMT rail union voted 8:1 in favour of strike action over jobs, pay and conditions.
Their union has called nationwide rail strikes for three dates next week: union members at Network Rail and 13 individual train operators will stage 24-hour walkouts on 21, 23 and 25 June.
The industrial action is likely to affect services immediately before and after the strike dates, as well as the intervening Wednesday and Friday.
National Rail, as well as a number of train operators, have told travellers to avoid using the rail network where possible during next week.
Read the full story below:
Thomas Kingsley17 June 2022 14:35
Sadiq Khan encouraging RMT to meet with TfL reps in a bid to stop strikes
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has said he is encouraging the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) to speak with representatives from Transport for London (TfL) so that planned strikes in the capital do not need to go ahead.
He told the BBC's World At One programme: “I'm encouraging the RMT to meet with TfL before Tuesday to call these strikes off.
“The strikes next week are going to be so damaging to London's economy, they are going to be incredibly inconvenient.
“The concerns the RMT have in relation to London are because of conditions attached by the government in relation to the funding required because of the pandemic, so they're pointing their anger at the wrong people. It's the wrong people suffering.
“So in relation to the strikes in London, I'd encourage the RMT to meet with TfL.”
In regards to nationwide strikes, Mr Khan added that the government should resolve unions' issues “amicably”.
Thomas Kingsley17 June 2022 14:04
Network Rails warns of heatwave travel disruption
Heavy travel disruption could be faced today as parts of England experience temperatures close to 35C, Network Rail has warned.
Overheated wires and tracks could cause disruption and delays, the rail operator has warned bringing travel chaos before strikes next week.
Thomas Kingsley17 June 2022 13:30
Watch: Grant Shapps urges rail workers not strike 'under basic lie'
Grant Shapps urges rail workers not strike 'under basic lie'
Thomas Kingsley17 June 2022 12:45
Government ‘whipping up division’ between communities and workers
Sadiq Khan has accused the government of “inciting” next week's Tube strike.
The London Mayor claimed that Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps were “whipping up” division with the Transport for London funding deal.
He said: “At the core of this is the government... orchestrating and engineering and inciting a strike in London by attaching these conditions to the funding deal, which has got the trade unions really concerned.
“The Tories are in government and this is classic deflecting from Shapps and Johnson who are responsible for this divisive politics, for whipping up them versus us, communities versus workers.
“And now they've got the audacity to blame Her Majesty's Official Opposition for these strikes when it's the government that's in the cockpit.
“It's punishing the wrong people - it's the government who are attaching these strings, not Londoners, not our businesses, not our key workers.”
(PA)
Thomas Kingsley17 June 2022 12:15
Southeastern workers to be balloted for strikes set to cause more summer travel chaos
More railway workers are to be balloted for strikes in escalating disputes over pay and jobs, increasing the threat of a summer of travel chaos.
The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) served notice to ballot hundreds of workers at Southeastern, saying it was demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living.
The ballot opens on 23 June and closes on 11 July, so action could start from 25 July.
Thomas Kingsley17 June 2022 11:45
All the trains running during the rail strike
During the planned nationwide rail strikes for three dates in late June, only 22 per cent of passenger train services will run – most of them on key links to and from London.
According to the RMT, it is “the biggest dispute on the network since 1989” and will involve 40,000 workers.
A senior rail source said the plan was to run “as decent a rail service as we can”.
Only around half of Britain’s rail network will be open on strike days, from around 7.30am until 6.30pm.
At Network Rail, the infrastructure provider, the most critical roles in the day-to-day running of the railway are 5,000 signallers.
Management and other staff are expected to cover about half the network for about 11 hours per day. Many lines will see no trains.
Read the full story here
Thomas Kingsley17 June 2022 11:15
When do the train strikes start?
After members of the RMT rail union voted 8:1 in favour of strike action over jobs, pay and conditions, their union has called nationwide rail strikes for three dates in late June.
Union members at Network Rail and 13 train operators will stage 24-hour walkouts on 21, 23 and 25 June.
What could the effect be? And are other disputes on the horizon?
Read below for key questions about the strikes answered by our travel correspondent, Simon Calder:
Thomas Kingsley17 June 2022 10:45
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