In the context of the cost-of-living squeeze, rise in fuel costs, as well as UK inflation, rising to 9.1%, its highest rate in 40 years, and energy prices that are continuously soaring, national rail strikes have been the most cause of commotion for UK residents this past week.
In a three-day industrial action strike, which has been marked as the largest rail strike recorded in 30 years, faced by Great Britain, rail workers taking part in national rail strikes, have caused chaos on the UK’s rail network.
Collectively bargaining for better pay and working conditions, the National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers strike, involves 40,000 signallers, maintenance and train staff working for Network Rail, who are responsible for infrastructures such as track, stations, and level crossings and 13 train operators.
The daughter of a migrant railway worker, and the Cabinet Member of Inclusive Communities for Oxford Council, Shaista Aziz, shares the emotional story of her late father, who worked on the railways, for 34 years and was a lifelong trade unionist and member of the RMT.
Cllr Aziz told Asian Sunday: “Like many working-class British South Asians, we have grown up with parents who are transport workers.
“My dad spent thirty-four years working on the railways, his first job on the railways was sweeping the platform. He worked at Oxford Railway Station for thirty-four years and slowly worked his way to the top as a senior manager”.
Coming to the UK when he was 16 years of age, Cllr Aziz said “Dad loved the railways, he loved working outside and meeting people and passengers.
“He was also a lifelong trade unionist and member of the RMT. He participated in strike action and both our parents raised us to understand the meaning of solidarity in action and standing up for each other and all people and communities.
“He understood the power of workers of all colours and backgrounds coming together in solidarity to improve their pay, conditions, and lives of working-class people.
“He talked to us a lot about the racism and discrimination he faced at work and in wider society when he arrived in this country. Like many of our parents, he suffered violent physical racism and was called racist slurs on the streets”.
She goes on to voice her support for the ongoing rail strikes “The RMT are representing their members and doing their job. The government needs to do their job and stop treating the Union and workers with contempt. I watched a lot of the news coverage of the strikes and the hostility and aggression being shown to workers standing up for their rights are staggering.
The general decline of standards for workers, is the main reason for the RMT striking amid pay disputes, as workers who had been keeping the railways running during the pandemic are being threatened with job cuts and a pay freeze, which would mean that their pay isn’t keeping up with inflation.
The trade union is set to meet Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies for talks today, as the walkout will continue with further action of strikes on Thursday 23 June till Saturday 25 June, reports suggest.
Commenting on yesterday’s first rail strike since 1989, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said:
“Today’s turnout at picket lines has been fantastic and exceeded expectations in our struggle for job security, defending conditions and a decent pay rise.
“Our members will continue the campaign and have shown outstanding unity in pursuit of a settlement to this dispute. RMT members are leading the way for all workers in this country who are sick and tired of having their pay and conditions slashed by a mixture of big business profits and government policy.
“Now is the time to stand up and fight for every single railway worker in this dispute that we will win,” says Mick Lynch on the rail disputes.
Polling shows that 58% of the public back the rail and tube strikes.
As frustrated commuters have been voicing their anger at the workers taking industrial action, one person writes “Now is the time to introduce automation and driverless trains. As long as Mick Lynch doesn’t lose any of his £125,000 a year salary. Wouldn’t want him to go hungry”.
However, they have been told to turn their anger elsewhere, as others say “Frustration would be best directed at the government or employers who have the power and resources
to find a positive outcome but choose not to. They are banking on your anger being directed at those on strike but if we focus on the bigger picture, we can see who is truly responsible for this situation”.
Stockport Labour MP Navendu Mishra has also voiced his support “This treacherous government has underfunded and mismanaged our public transport network for more than a decade.
“As a proud trade unionist, I stand with all workers on our railway network who are taking industrial action to fight for their jobs & keep passengers safe”.
As there have been no disputes between Transport for Wales and the trade union, the First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford, expresses his views on the UK government’s approach to dealing with industrial relations:
“It is a remarkable record of failure and I’m afraid its people not just in Wales but across the United Kingdom who are paying the cost of that failure today”.