At least 40,000 RMT members will compete for redundancies and real-time pay cuts tomorrow. The railway will operate with a capacity of 20 percent and only from 7.30 am. until 6.30 p.m. Many of the last long-distance trains will depart in the afternoon. Announcing the 24-hour action, Secretary-General Mick Lynch said: “Grant Shapps has disrupted these negotiations by preventing Network Rail from withdrawing its letter threatening the dismissal of 2,900 of our members. “Until the government releases Network Rail and the train companies, it will not be possible to reach an agreement through negotiations.” His comments angered ministers and the railway industry. Shapps, the transport secretary, said: “This is a complete lie from RMT and its secretary general. “I had absolutely nothing to do with the letter sent by Network Rail, the employer, to RMT – nor with any request for its withdrawal.” Grant Shapps says RMT was wasting its time making “false allegations in the media” JOHN SIBLEY / REUTERS A senior industry source said they were “confident” the tide would turn the RMT upside down, adding: “The public will soon realize that these big union wigs are holding them as ransom.” Network Rail sent a letter to union leaders on Monday, when talks finally broke down, informing them of a formal consultation on maintenance modernization and layoffs on July 1st. The times, does not mention numbers, but Network Rail said it intends to cut 1,800 jobs through voluntary redundancies and physical turnover. Shapps added: “I understand that the letter makes no reference to the 2,900 redundancies, but I do know that it confirmed that Network Rail would be desperate to introduce necessary reforms to the industry as the union opted for the strike instead of further talks. “I want to urge Mick Leeds and his members to stop wasting time making false allegations in the media and instead return to the negotiating table to reach an agreement.” Clapham Junction, one of Britain’s busiest stations, closed this morning due to unrest JEREMY SELWYN / SELWYNPICS Merseyrail staff today set a benchmark for rail pay increases, securing a 7.1% deal, much higher than the government would have liked. Ministers argue that such increases will fuel inflation, although Merseyrail’s agreement with the Private Employees’ Association (TSSA) still represents a reduction in real wages. The one-year deal is just 2 percent below annual CPI inflation, which reached a 40-year high last month.
Starmer to wait before punishing the rebel MPs
JESSICA TAYLOR / PARLIAMENT UK Sir Keir Starmer seems to be waiting until the end of the strikes before ordering Sir Alan Campbell, the Labor leader, to deal with disciplinary issues such as the front benches that took part in the picket queues yesterday. A Labor spokesman said Campbell would make a decision in the coming days. He could not be reached for comment as to how he could take any action, but said “the scourge is aware of Keir’s wishes”. Starmer has vowed to punish members of his frontbench team who disobeyed his order to avoid queues. At least four of Starmer’s shadow team lined up yesterday and his deputy, Angela Rainer, undermined him by supporting the strikes. Starmer was already opposed by his party’s left, with more than a dozen Labor MPs publicly supporting the strikes. He tried to avoid condemning or supporting them.
Why the Merseyrail payment agreement matters
Merseyrail workers are not on strike this week PETER BYRNE / PA Merseyrail’s 7.1 percent pay rise is a little more complicated than it first seems (writes Ben Clatworthy). Merseyrail is one of the few remaining franchises operating without government money, which means it holds the keys to its cash and maintains its own ticket revenue. This poses a financial risk and the cost of strikes tends to outweigh the cost of a settlement. Insiders say this is why RMTs have always been on their way to pay disputes. Merseyrail is a private company and can offer its staff whatever it wants. Other UK train operators, with state support for life, can not. “The unions have been calling for the nationalization of the railways for years, protesting endlessly over privatizations,” said an industry source. “The pandemic means they have gotten their way, but not for a fee.” However, no one in the rail industry denies that Merseyrail’s agreement with the Private Employees Association (TSSA) will be a benchmark that is significantly higher than what the government wants. Critics have blamed Merseyrail’s decision on Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the city of Liverpool, who ultimately controls the network through the public broadcaster Merseytravel. The government stressed that Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, had no involvement in the deal. Critics of Merseyrail’s bidding blame Steve Rotheram, even though it is a private company ΑΛΑΜΥ Merseyrail employs around 1,200 people in and around Liverpool as part of a 50-50 operation between Abellio and Serco. The 24-year franchise lasts until 2028. The local TSSA represents a range of staff from security guards to driver managers. RMT members in Merseyrail are voting on whether to accept such an offer. No union is on strike in Merseyrail, but as hundreds of bus drivers in Merseyside prepare to strike next week for wages. The Unite members of Stagecoach will leave on June 30 and again on July 4. Sharon Graham, general secretary of the Unite union, said: “Stagecoach is an extremely profitable company: it can easily afford to pay its employees a decent salary, but it chooses not to. “Unite will always challenge employers who make excessive profits by exploiting and underestimating employees.”
Raising wages by 7 percent makes sense, says the union boss
Manuel Cortes said the deal showed the unions were trying to avoid a summer of resentment ΑΛΑΜΥ Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA union, hailed the 7.1 per cent pay rise he secured from Merseyrail as a “reasonable offer” to help keep pace with rising living costs. All general class workers will receive a 7.1 percent increase or £ 1,600, whichever is greater. Ninety-four percent of TSSA members in Merseyrail voted in favor, and a similar offer has been made to RMT members there. Ministers say the drop in wage demands will lead to 1970s-style inflation. almost certain to take place tomorrow. Cortes said: “What is clear is that our union, and the sister unions, are by no means an obstacle to finding the solutions needed to avoid a summer of dissatisfaction on the railways. “On the contrary, it is the government that intends to dig in its heels.”
Find the guts to condemn the strikes, PM tells Starmer
Johnson: We support the fighters, not the attackers Johnson repeatedly attacked Starmer’s questions to the prime minister about his refusal to criticize RMT employees, saying he did not have the “glue” to condemn them. The Prime Minister tried to draw a line between the strikers and the other workers. He said: “It is a shame when we plan to ensure that you do not have ticket offices that sell less than one ticket every hour, that yesterday there were 25 Labor MPs out on the picket lines supporting the strikers, while we were behind the protesters.” Starmer responded that Transport Secretary Grant Saps had focused more on “working on his spreadsheet by monitoring the prime minister’s unpopularity” than on meeting with workers to find a solution. He referred to a plan leaked by Steve Barclay, Johnson’s chief of staff, to remove the bankers’ bonus ceiling. He said: “The chief of staff told him that lifting the ceiling on bankers’ bonuses” reflects our new approach “. “Salary increases for the city’s bankers, salary cuts for local nurses: this is the new approach.”
The trip to Glastonbury went off track
Passengers to Glastonbury wait their turn at Paddington Station in London ASHLEE RUGGELS / PA Early birds enjoy 25 C heat in Glastonbury YUI MOK / PA About half of the trains serving the Glastonbury Festival have been canceled as a result of yesterday’s strike, complicating travel for tens of thousands of fans. The gates opened at 8 a.m., but many arrived yesterday and slept in their cars or chairs to beat the traffic. The Great Western Rail said the Glasto Express service from London Paddington was operating normally, but other cancellations made things difficult. In a regular year, about one-third of Glastonbury’s 200,000 players arrive by train, according to a survey by insurance company LV =. The average participant was found to be traveling 169 miles. Train passengers must pick up a bus from Castle Cary Station at Worthy Farm, which increases congestion. The music starts seriously tomorrow, but the biggest sets, including Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Kendrick Lamar and Billie Eilish, start on Friday. Our critics have suggested the best sets to watch here.
Teachers threaten to retire in the fall
Members of the National Education Association take part in a cost-of-living rally in London last week GUY SMALLMAN / GETTY IMAGES Britain’s largest teachers’ union warns of wage labor and workload unless the government addresses its concerns in the coming months (writes Emma Yeomans). The National Education Union said it would strongly encourage its 460,000 members to support the strikes if the dispute is not resolved. Most teachers in England have been offered a pay rise of 3 per cent, which represents a reduction in real terms when CPI inflation is at 9.1 per cent. Any strike is unlikely to take place until October. “The average salary of teachers is at the lowest level compared to the average salary in the whole economy in the last 40 years,” the union said in a letter to members. “Teachers and…
