A wave of strikes will disrupt rail services, affecting passengers across the UK starting today and continuing for several months
London: Rail passengers are kicking off the new year with more chaos. Just like the last couple of years, they’re facing a wave of strikes that will really mess with their travel plans.
Today, Avanti West Coast services on the London to Glasgow route are taking a hit because hundreds of train managers are walking out. It’s not just today, either; these strikes will keep happening every Sunday from January 12 to May 25.
This means a lot of trains will be running on a reduced timetable, starting later and finishing earlier. If you’re in North Wales, Blackpool, or Edinburgh, you won’t see any Avanti services at all.
The strikes were called by the RMT union last year. The train managers are upset about how they’re paid for working on their days off. They feel that the senior managers who come in to fill in during staff shortages are making more money than they are.
Last month, three planned strikes were canceled while they voted on a new pay offer, but that offer got rejected. Avanti’s director, Kathryn O’Brien, expressed disappointment, saying customers will face a lot of disruptions.
On the flip side, the union insists that ongoing strike action is the only way to get management to pay attention. It’s been a tough couple of years for rail services, and things only got better when Labour came into power, promising to sort things out.
