London: Train strikes in Britain today, Thursday and Saturday. The three-day strike, which takes place on alternate days, will effectively trap passengers for a whole week. The strike was called by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT). Public transport in England, Scotland and Wales will be disrupted as the vast majority of workers go on strike. Employees of the London Tube Service, the lifeblood of the city of London, are also participating in the strike. All underground tube services except DLR will be on strike.
The rail transport sector is witnessing the strongest strike in the last 30 years. The unions blamed the government and management for the strike, and Transport Secretary Grant Shaps blamed the union’s malice for the strike. Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections. The last talks held yesterday did not bear fruit and the strike was called off. Announced by MT Union.
Andy Lord, Chief Operating Officer for Transport for London, has warned that London Tube service could be cut off due to the strike. Warnings that it is better on strike days to avoid all unnecessary travel. Employee walkout will resume after 24 hours but it will take another 24 hours for services to return to normal. By then, the second phase of the struggle will have arrived. It is expected that the train service in the country will be disrupted till the weekend.
The government is introducing additional bus services in London to replace train services, but this will not solve the problem of millions of commuters.
Roads will also be congested as train services are suspended. Long journeys can lead to hours of traffic jams if not taken care of. People flock to reach offices and other workplaces.
The government’s reduction of aid to the railway sector to about four billion pounds has led to a strike by workers. Protests have been sparked by companies’ cuts in benefits and austerity measures as government aid has dwindled. The demand for a decent wage increase was not accepted as the cost of living had risen to unprecedented levels. The workers are protesting against the decision to close the ticket offices and forcibly dismiss the employees.