Article author:
Associated Press
LONDON (AP) — Thousands of British rail workers launched a renewed strike on Thursday amid ongoing disputes over wages and working conditions exacerbated by a deepening cost of living crisis.
Only one-fifth of trains are running in Britain as a result of strikes by union members who have already gone on multiple strikes in recent months. Hmm. A strike scheduled for Friday is expected to affect the London Underground network and bus services in the capital.
Railways, Maritime and Transport Union leader Mick Lynch argued that the UK Conservative government's "anti-union policy" was prolonging the labor unrest.
He said rail workers, like other public sector workers in the UK, were struggling to cope with high food and fuel prices. The country's inflation rate jumped to his 40-year high of 10.1% in July, surpassing analysts' central forecast of 9.8%, according to official data on Wednesday.
"People in this country are fed up with low wages. Millions have not had proper wage agreements for decades," Lynch said Thursday. "So public sector workers in health, education, transport and services of all kinds are exposed to wage cuts and rampant inflation."
27} The government has argued that public funds must be used to protect railroad workers' jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, and officials are determined to ensure the rail system remains financially sustainable into the future. They say railroad workers were offered fair wages.A spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport said union leaders, instead of trying to reach an agreement, were forced to "inflict misery and ruin the lives of millions" for the sixth time since June. I chose to confuse," he said.
