About 80% of services were shut down during the 24-hour strike by 40,000 members of the RMT union, leaving much of northern England, Wales and Scotland without trains. Of the few trains that started and the stations that remained open, most were quiet as passengers listened to the advice to avoid traveling. A one-day strike on the London Underground by another 10,000 RMT members has exacerbated difficulties for those who needed to cross the capital, closing almost the entire Underground network. The national rail services will start later in the day and with reduced services on Wednesday, due to the negative effects of the strike and the staff strike in some shifts. Talks are set to resume between Network Rail and RMT, as well as between the union and train operators, ahead of two more national 24-hour strikes on Thursday and Saturday. Network Rail has stepped up pressure on RMT, announcing it will begin the formal process of reforming work practices and cutting 1,800 maintenance workers, including mandatory layoffs if needed. Hopes for a major breakthrough this week remain slim, as the club rejected offers worth 3% from the industry on Monday. In a letter to RMT’s leadership, Network Rail said it could “no longer delay” plans to reform maintenance regimes, although “it would very much prefer to implement them with your agreement and co-operation”. Tim Shoveller, chief negotiator at Network Rail, said: “The changes will mean the rejection of outdated work practices and the introduction of new technology, which will lead to a more efficient and secure maintenance organization.” Glasgow Central Station on Tuesday. Photo: Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images He said he hoped the majority of the 1,800 job losses would come “through voluntary redundancies and physical waste” – although voluntary redundancies would require the union to accept the reforms. RMT Secretary-General Mick Lynch said the turnout was “fantastic and exceeded expectations” and promised that members would continue the campaign, “leading the way for all workers in this country who are sick and tired of having their salaries. and conditions were reduced by a mix of big business profits and government policy. “ A spokesman for the Ministry of Transport said the closure had hit businesses and unfairly cut people off from hospitals, schools and work, adding: “However, early data show that unlike in the past, many people now have the opportunity to work from home, so we have no shelter even [had] a rush in the streets, as the traffic instead has been done online, which means that the unions do not have the overall impact they would have hoped for. “ As a result of the subway strike, London was more affected by the increase in traffic, according to satnav TomTom, with morning congestion levels – measured in terms of extra travel time compared to free-flowing traffic – from 77% a week ago to 98% today. Congestion levels at 8am Liverpool rose from 48% to 55% and Newcastle from 50% to 57%. Waze, another satnav company, said there was “bumper-to-bumper traffic” on the M25, M1 and M40 to London with increased congestion in residential areas such as Ealing, Barking and Edmonton, with traffic moving around 8 miles / hour in the morning. Transport Secretary Grand Saps described the departures as a “trick” and refused to start talks, saying he would “make things worse”. He reiterated the government’s plans to amend the strike laws and allow workers to take on roles including controlling the railways, which the unions rejected as unenforceable. Some Labor lawmakers appeared on the picket line to offer their full support, while the party leadership questioned whether it would support the action, which the Conservatives tried to accuse the opposition of. People waiting for a bus in central London. Photo: The Guardian Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the cabinet that commuters must be prepared to “stay on track” and prepare for further strikes, warning that without fundamental changes to the system, fares would rise and the industry would fall. . The railways estimate the strikes will cost 150 150m in lost revenue over the week – fearing it would also encourage many to stay home from work, as rail numbers returned to more than 80% of levels before the pandemic. The hospitality industry said the blow could be even bigger for restaurants, pubs and other businesses, with a potential loss of 500 500m for a sector already affected by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the retail data analyst Springboard, the downward trend on all major roads in the United Kingdom fell by 8.5% compared to last week and by 27% in central London. Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST However, many Londoners also turned to cycling and walking to defeat the metro strike, on a sunny day. Transport for London said there were only about 40,000 London Underground journeys this morning, down 95% from last week, with bus services up 7% from last week. Bicycle rental also increased by 46% compared to Monday. Meanwhile, following predictions that the railway union’s stance could lead to a wider summer of discontent, the postal workers’ union said it was considering a strike after rejecting a 2% pay rise offer as “completely inadequate”. The Communications Workers’ Union will announce a national ballot for Royal Post staff as it pushes for an inflation-based award without bundles. The work will be sent to CWU members on June 28, with the result expected three weeks later.
