Railway services to get hit in October as train drivers in UK call for strikes over pay issue

Railway strikes have affected train services throughout the summer as unions have debated with train companies regarding pay and work conditions. Due to the Queen's funeral, earlier plans for strikes had been called off for September. The strikes will resume in October, and the Conservative party's convention to be hosted on October 2 will be affected.

Plans were afoot based on earlier discussions that September 15 and 17 would be 'railway standstill' days. Another walk-out was planned for September 26, a Monday. But the strikes were cancelled in reverence to the Queen's funeral.

Around 12 train companies would be affected as train drivers plan to call strikes in October if the issue regarding their wages is not settled. The inflation rate has been very damaging for their purses, and the drivers have all been working long hours, including during the pandemic, without any pay increase. This, for the unions, was not acceptable as inflation has gone up by at least 10% without any rise in pay for the workers.





The union heads called for the nation's support in their long-standing grievances and called upon the private train company CEOs to come to the negotiating table and give them their due respect and pay. The unions called upon these train companies to do the right and decent thing, and make an offer the train drivers can't refuse.

The inflation the unions complained about was in double digits, but the companies had given no pay increase since 2019.
According to the union leaders, Grant Shapps is responsible for instigating the CEOs not to negotiate with the railway drivers.

Mike Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, said they regret that commuters and passengers will be on the receiving end as the rail drivers don't want to go on a strike, but the rail companies have forced them to go ahead with calling the strikes. The companies want the workers to take a 10% pay cut in real-time when inflation has gone up by 10%. This development is not fair on the part of the train company management, for the workers or the passengers.

FAQs

When is International Labour Day?
Answer: May 1

When is Labour Day celebrated in the USA and Canada?
Answer: The first Monday in September is celebrated as Labour Day.