Railway companies announced the delay of a number of trains and the cancellation of flights as a result of the strike, which falls within the framework of the social conflict that has been going on for months in the United Kingdom and is not limited to this sector.
Rail transport workers strike again on Friday and Saturday in the United Kingdom to demand higher wages in the face of inflation, after they rejected proposals made by companies in the sector.
Train drivers are scheduled to strike on Friday at the invitation of the “Aslev” union, while maintenance and control workers strike on Saturday at the invitation of the “RMT” union.
Railway companies announced the delay of a number of trains and the cancellation of flights as a result of the strike, which falls within the framework of the social conflict that has been going on for months in the United Kingdom and is not limited to this sector.
Nursing workers, paramedics, civil servants and other professions went on strike for several days over the rising cost of living and inflation soaring above 10 percent.
While less-representative unions have finalized their moves, Aslife and RMT have so far rejected proposals to raise salaries by 4 per cent for this year (after a similar increase last year), accompanied by changes in working conditions.
“We don’t want to go on strike… We don’t want to get to this point, but after four years without a salary increase we feel we have no choice,” Mick Whelan, general secretary of the Aslife union, told the BBC. He accused the government of harboring “bad faith” and “lack of dialogue” with unions and tying companies’ hands in negotiations.
Train drivers are planning a new strike on May 31 and June 3.
The Secretary of State for Transport responsible for railways Hugh Merriman told Sky News the proposal on the table was “good enough”. He also denounced the consequences of strikes that could disrupt people’s arrival to attend the Eurovision Song Contest, which will be held on Saturday in Liverpool, and the arrival of Manchester City and Manchester United fans to London on June 3 to attend the FA Cup Final.
“It is unfortunate that cultural and sporting events have been targeted, especially these two events,” he said.
