AS a weekend of rail chaos begins, union boss Mick Lynch has warned of “synchronised” strike action, threatening to bring the UK to a halt.
The walk-out comes after long-running disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.
Network Rail, train companies, London Underground and buses in the capital will be hit by the walkouts which will spark chaos until Sunday.
Today, RMT members at Network Rail (NR) and 14 train operators, TSSA members at seven companies, and Unite members at NR downed tools and went on strike.
This will have a knock-on effect on rail services on Friday morning.
Speaking to Sky News, RMT boss Mick Lynch said: “There is a wave of reaction amongst working people to the way they’re being treated.
“I think there will be generalised and synchronised action. It may not be in a traditional form.”
Read our Train strikes live blog below for the latest news & updates…
-
Weekend disruption
On Saturday, RMT members at Network Rail and 14 train operators, TSSA members at seven companies, and Unite members at NR will strike again, along with London United bus drivers.
Sunday morning train services will be affected by the knock-on effect of Saturday’s action.
Rail services on Thursday and Saturday will be drastically reduced, with only around a fifth running, and half of lines closed.
Trains will only operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm on both strike days.
-
Who will be affected?
The strikes are set to spark misery not just for workers, but also holidaymakers and fans going to events.
Premier League football fixtures and a cricket Test match at Lords, which began today, will be impacted by the strikes.
Strikes will affect services until the weekend.
-
Who will participate in the strikes?
Network Rail, train companies, London Underground and buses in the capital will be hit by the walkouts which will spark chaos until Sunday.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite will be involved in the industrial action, after ongoing talks failed to break the deadlocked rows.
Today, RMT members at Network Rail (NR) and 14 train operators, TSSA members at seven companies, and Unite members at NR will strike.
-
Chaos TODAY
Commuters are bracing for days of travel misery ahead of rail, tube and bus strikes which begin TODAY.
Tens of thousands of workers will stage strikes following long -running disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.
-
What to expect tomorrow morning
The capital is set to grind to a halt tomorrow, as hundreds of rail workers down tools once again.
Here is how the lines will be affected:
- London Underground: Avoid using, no night tube and severe delays all day.
- London Overground: No overnight services.
- Elizabeth line: Disruption.
- Trams: Huge delays.
- DLR: Daytime services running to Bank.
- Buses: Severe disruption
-
Ryanair hit with over 100 cancellations as travel chaos hits the aviation industry
Wednesday saw a slew of Ryanair workers down tools across the company’s Spanish operations.
As a result, a reported 127 flights were cancelled in a single day.
The areas affected include Madrid, Barcelona, Girona, Malaga, Seville, Valencia, Alicante, Santiago de Compostela, Palma and Ibiza.
-
14 separate train operators went on strike today
Network Rail, train companies, London Underground and buses in the capital have been hit by the walkouts which will spark chaos until Sunday.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite will be involved in the industrial action after ongoing talks failed to break the deadlocked rows.
Today, RMT members at Network Rail (NR) and 14 train operators, TSSA members at seven companies, and Unite members at NR went on strike.
-
EasyJet strikes begin TOMORROW
The first of the airline’s strikes took place on August 12 and lasted until August 14.
Now, the second strike is set to begin tomorrow and will run from August 19-21.
The third and final strike will be from August 27-29.
All three will are expected to disrupt flights at easyJet’s bases at Barcelona, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca.
-
Central Line suffers severe delays
The Central Line is currently suffering from severe delays, despite strike action not set to begin until tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Britain’s rail service is set to grind to a halt once more.
Rail workers are demanding higher wages, better working conditions and more employment security.
-
Heathrow Express at a standstill tonight
The Heathrow Express will not be running from 6:10pm this evening until tomorrow morning at 7am, so anyone arriving very late or early tomorrow morning will have to find alternative routes.
On August 20, trains won’t run before 7am or after 6:10pm.
The Stansted Express has warned travellers to “avoid travelling with them” today, as well as over the entire weekend due to both strikes and engineering works.
Luton Airport passengers will also be affected by the Thameslink strike, while Manchester Airport passengers have been warned to expect busier trains due to a reduced schedule.
Brits may want to pre-book a taxi or drive to the airport to avoid the travel chaos, as the limited trains running are likely to be busy.
-
Unions on the brink of ‘synchronised’ strike, RMT boss claims
Mick Lynch has claimed unions are getting ready to unite in something akin to a general strike.
Speaking to Sky News, the union boss said: “There is a wave of reaction amongst working people to the way they’re being treated.
“People are getting poorer every day of the week. People can’t pay their bills. They’re getting treated despicably at the workplace. I think there will be generalised and synchronised action. It may not be in a traditional form.
“But we’ve seen the Post Office workers and BT [on strike] we’ve seen the bus workers in London out on strike tomorrow and over the weekend. I think there is a massive response coming from working people because they’re fed up with the way they’ve been treated.”
-
How strikes will affect Brits
Care worker Gbemi Nadi, says she will be forced to sleep in her car when the trains stop and can’t afford to drive to work each day.
Gbemi, from Marlow, Bucks, said: “If I don’t get to work vulnerable people are without medication and therapies. As a team leader I must be there.
“People like me, who earn a lot less than a £59,000 train driver, are picking up the pieces.”
District nurse Laura Mills, 31, from Bognor Regis, West Sussex, says the train strikes have scuppered her first week off since winter.
She said: “I was meant to take the train to see family in Yorkshire. I’m looking at hours on the road and £300 to fill my tank. It’s cheaper to not to take a holiday.”
-
Mick Lynch doubles down
RMT union boss Mick Lynch has doubled down on his intention to continue the rail chaos hitting the UK this weekend.
The union boss said strikes will continue: “until we reach a settlement.”
Brits are set to be hit with massive delays tomorrow, as the nation’s rail services grind to a halt.
-
Tomorrow’s outlook in London
The capital is set to grind to a halt tomorrow, as hundreds of rail workers down tools once again.
Here is how the lines will be affected:
- London Underground: Avoid using, no night tube and severe delays all day.
- London Overground: No overnight services.
- Elizabeth line: Disruption.
- Trams: Huge delays.
- DLR: Daytime services running to Bank.
- Buses: Severe disruption
-
Who will be affected by this weekend’s strike action?
The strikes are set to spark misery not just for workers, but also holidaymakers and fans going to events.
Premier League football fixtures and a cricket Test match at Lords, which began today, will be impacted by the strikes.
Strikes will affect services until the weekend.
-
‘For many this is the first time they have ever taken industrial action’
TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “Our members in the rail industry are going into the third or fourth year of a pay freeze. Meanwhile, food and fuel bills are spiralling, and the Tory cost-of-living crisis is making working people poorer. Enough is enough – this cannot go on.
“For lots of our members, this is the first time they have ever taken industrial action – it is a last resort and not something any rail worker takes lightly.”
He added: “Railway workers put their lives at risk to keep the country running in the pandemic and were rightly hailed as heroes. Yet now the Tories are hampering negotiations and blocking employers from making a reasonable offer to those same rail workers.
“Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and the Department for Transport need to make a reasonable offer on pay and job security – either by coming to the table themselves or allowing employers to negotiate freely. The string-pulling and blocking negotiations must stop.
“This dispute is not going away. Thousands of rail workers across the country are experiencing real-terms pay cuts as inflation skyrockets and the cost of living keeps rising.
“We will not back down until our members have won the pay, conditions and job security they deserve.”
-
TSSA members strike
TSSA members taking action include staff working in ticket offices, stations, control rooms, engineering, as well as planning, timetabling and other support roles.
The union is seeking guarantees of no compulsory redundancies, a pay rise in line with the cost of living, and promises of no unilateral alterations to job terms and conditions.
-
How much are workers paid?
These are the Office of National Statistics’ median salary figures for five different categories of workers:
- Rail travel assistants – £33,310 – includes ticket collectors, guards and information staff
- Rail construction and maintenance operatives – £34,998 – they lay and repair tracks
- Rail transport operatives – £48,750 – includes signallers and drivers’ assistants
- Train and tram drivers – £59,189
- Workers who build and repair engines and carriages – £46,753
The ONS have calculated a median figure of £43,747 across these five categories.
-
Strike action will interrupt travel to football
Rail network c2c have announced industrial action will effect those traveling to the West Ham game on the weekend.
There will be no trains from or to West Ham after 18:21.
-
Weekend disruption
On Saturday, RMT members at Network Rail and 14 train operators, TSSA members at seven companies, and Unite members at NR will strike again, along with London United bus drivers.
Sunday morning train services will be affected by the knock-on effect of Saturday’s action.
Rail services on Thursday and Saturday will be drastically reduced, with only around a fifth running, and half of lines closed.
Trains will only operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm on both strike days.
-
Check before you travel
TFL have advised commuters to check before they travel as strikes will cause severe disruption this week.
-
Sunday 21 August
Disruption from the strikes will continue to affect some services on Sunday.
Avoid travelling on affected services before 08:00.
-
Lynch says action will continue ‘until we get a settlement’
He told Sky News that action by his union will continue “until we reach a settlement” with Network Rail and other operators.
He added: “What you are going to get is a wave of solidarity action, generalised strike action, synchronised action.
“And you’ll see it in every sector of the economy, in education, in health, wider parts of the transport system, in all sectors, the private sector as well.
“People are fed up with the way they’ve been treated. The British worker is basically underpaid and gets no dignity or respect in the workplace.”
-
‘Huge increase’ in home broadband use likely today
Many workers are likely to remain at home today because of the nationwide rail strikes, which could see internet providers facing a surge in usage.
Tony Hughes of broadband provider 4th Utility says his firm expects internet traffic to increase by up to 15 percent today – “a really significant uplift”.
“We’ll see millions more people abandoning their commutes and working from studies, kitchens and spare bedrooms,” he said.
-
14 train operators to strike today
Network Rail, train companies, London Underground and buses in the capital will be hit by the walkouts which will spark chaos until Sunday.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite will be involved in the industrial action, after ongoing talks failed to break the deadlocked rows.
Today, RMT members at Network Rail (NR) and 14 train operators, TSSA members at seven companies, and Unite members at NR will strike.
