Social unrest continues across the Channel. After a first strike of railway workers on Thursday and a strike on the London Underground on Friday, British transport was affected this Saturday for the third consecutive day of mobilization, the sixth of the summer, with only one train in five in circulation.
Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT), Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite, the unions at the origin of this movement, ask for a salary increase adapted to the increase in the cost of living while the real salary of the British was lowered by 3 % in June due to inflation.
But negotiations with the multitude of private rail operators in the sector have so far stalled. Transport Minister Grant Shapps, accused of blocking the situation, for his part criticizes the unions for rejecting reforms to modernize the railway and assured on Friday that he could force them.
This Saturday’s strike, followed by more than 45,000 railway workers according to the BBC, will significantly disrupt the flow of tourists, football fans who attend matches and festival goers. “Travel today only when absolutely necessary,” called Network Rail, the private company that owns the rail network of the former British Railways.
Various sectors affected
Rail transport is not the only sector affected by these massive strikes in the UK. The post office as well as the British ports have also been affected by social movements in recent weeks.
BFMTV guest Denis Macshane, Tony Blair’s former European Affairs Minister, believes “we have to go back to the 1970s” to see a strike movement of such magnitude. The context is also partly comparable since it is the high level of inflation, 10.1% in July over a year, which is at the origin of the discontent of the employees.
And sky-high prices should continue to reach 13% in October, the highest level of the G7 countries, in particular due to rising energy prices, according to the Bank of England. The ceiling for gas and electricity bills set by the British regulator will thus go from 1,971 pounds to 3,300 pounds (3,887 euros) per year on October 1, after an already spectacular rise of 54% last April.
New strikes to come
Dimanche, les dockers du port de Felixstowe (est de l’Angleterre) – le plus gros pour le fret dans le pays – démarreront à leur tour une grève de huit jours, menaçant de mettre à l’arrêt une grande partie du traffic de marchandises From the country.
On the rail side, the movement of rail workers should also affect the movement of trains on Sunday morning. Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT, said the strikers had public support saying they were “right behind us”.
In the absence of a salary agreement, he considered the prospect of new strikes “very likely”.
Source: BFM TV
