About 5,000 train drivers from seven railway companies went on strike today in the UK to demand higher wages and better working conditions, similar to other strikes carried out throughout the month by specialists in other companies.
Today’s strike, which could repeat on August 13 if no agreement is reached, was called by the Asleef Union, which represents train drivers. Last Wednesday, about 40,000 employees of the state railways network and 14 other companies went on strike organized by RMT.
In the UK, train service is privatized and operated by several companies in franchises and franchises, while Network Rail maintains lines and some infrastructure.
Train drivers’ 24-hour stoppage affects services in many areas, especially in England, and makes it difficult to access, among other events, the Commonwealth Games, which are held in Birmingham, downtown.
Relations between the government – which do not negotiate, but influence what companies can do – and unions worsened after Asleaf’s general secretary, Mick Whelan, accused Transport Secretary Grant Shapps of “lying” about the evolution of the negotiations.
Grant Shapps has repeatedly condemned the strikes and, in an article in The Times, criticized RMT for “obstructing reform and delaying Aslef negotiations”.
Today, in turn, the president of the Federation of Rail Delivery Group Rail Companies, Steve Montgomery, said workers should accept the modernization of the labor system, especially “to respond to the dramatic changes in travel habits, after the pandemic.”
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