All three railway unions, RMT, Aslef and TSSA, are on strike today, Oct. 1, which will reduce traffic to just 11% of normal operations. The 24-hour strike is timed to coincide with the start of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham. This strike action will be followed by one on Oct. 5 by drivers in Aslef, and Oct. 8 by the RMT union.
Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, said more strikes were likely to follow since negotiations were far from a resolution. He said: “The government are making it more and more difficult. They are telling firms we can’t have a pay rise, and lifting the cap on bankers bonuses to four times their salary. Food and energy prices are going through the roof, mortgage rates and rent – while we’ve seen the top 350 FTSE firms increase their profits by 73%. Inflation isn’t being driven by workers’ pay, it’s profiteering.”
