Rail strike in Great Britain – biggest in 30 years

Parts of Britain have come to a standstill after several rail unions, including London Underground drivers, went on strike. Overall, it was the biggest rail strike in the country in 30 years. At the forefront is the union RMT, whose spokeswoman Michael Lynch has received harsh interrogations on British television in recent days.

– The Labor Party should support the working people who are suffering. One way to counter asymmetry, when negotiations fail, is through conflict measures. What else should we do? Shall we beg and beg? We want to negotiate our future, among other things, he told Sky News.

The conflict stems from the Conservative government’s decision to cut and streamline the railways, affecting working hours, job security and pay. Combined with high British inflation – 9.1 per cent in May – this means both working conditions and real wages are weakening at the same time. Pressure on wages is mounting after Merseyrail, a small rail company based in Liverpool, set unusually high standards and offered a 7.1 per cent pay rise.

Swedish rail union Sego’s ombudsman, Thomas Korin Weijmer, tells Flaman that wanting a real wage increase despite high inflation is “not an unreasonable demand”. He develops his view on employers’ downsizing plans.

– Among other things, they want to make it easier to bring in temporary employees, and if I understand correctly, I also checked how the working hours should be organized to do more work. This is a conflict with various factors, and may be an explanation for why unions are forced to strike.

Did you have any contact with your British counterparts?

– It is only through our internationals that we express our unity.

There is flame reported earlier This is one of the explanations for the logistical chaos at Swedish Railways at the beginning of the year, according to the Seko department at SJ, about similar cuts and changes to working hours for Swedish Rail employees. Corinne Weijmer sees both similarities and differences between conditions in Great Britain and Sweden.

– With industrial agreements and national agreements, we have a completely different model for creating wages and how our collective agreements are structured. But on the other hand, it’s clear that there are tendencies for employers to try to advance their positions, and we’re doing our best to fight that.

Could a similar broad rail strike be appropriate in Sweden?

– This is further in the future, when we know how our negotiations are going in the spring of 2023, you can come back with comments on that issue. But our hopes are definitely that we will be able to resolve the negotiations without conflict and get the demands we are making.

The British government and the Bank of England have urged rail companies not to accept wage rises as demanded, saying it would worsen inflation. Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the strike “wrong and unnecessary” and blamed the union for transport disruptions affecting British citizens. A third of Britons support a strike, according to a poll by Ipsos. The number is highest among people under 55.

British union leaders are warning that the strike could last longer if employers and the government stick to their positions in negotiations. At the same time, unions in other industries, including teachers and car assemblers, have flagged their own strikes for real wage increases and better working conditions. Unions and employers speak of a “summer of discontent” similar to the British strike wave in the winter of 1979.