Esme McKenzie
Train drivers are to go on strike on the 1st and 3rd of February, as union bosses rejected pay offers from rail companies. Impact’s Esme McKenzie reports.
One student from the university told Impact that, although they find the strikes “annoying”, they still “hugely support the strikes”
A new set of rail strikes are set to take place on Wednesday the 1st of February and Friday the 3rd, over continuing disputes over pay and working conditions. The union ASLEF rejected proposals off a pay increase of 8% over two years. Mick Whelan, the secretary of ASLEF stated that the proposal “could never be acceptable” as it was attached with “unacceptable” terms and conditions and was clearly “rushed”.
The rail strikes come following several days of walkouts in January and December and are likely to cause much disruption. This disruption has left some students worried. One student from the university told Impact that, although they find the strikes “annoying”, they still “hugely support the strikes”, as they believe that “everyone deserves a pay rise”.
The new strikes will affect 15 train companies across the country, including intercity and national routes. The large-scale walkouts coincide with a fresh wave of strikes as civil servants, teachers, university lecturers, nurses and ambulance staff are all also planning on striking in the coming month.
Like train drivers, other core services are taking industrial action throughout February and March over disputes of pay and working conditions. The rail strikes on February 1st will coincide with the first of the eighteen days of UCU strikes. With no agreement reached yet, the strikes are set to continue in the next months.
Esme McKenzie
Featured image courtesy of Charles Forerunner via Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
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