Railway workers on Network Rail and 14 train operating companies will take strike action on 1 October 1 in a row over job security, pay and working conditions.
Companies affected by the RMT action will be Network Rail, c2c, Avanti West Coast, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia, Govia Thameslink Railway (including Gatwick Express), Great Western Railway, LNER, Northern, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.
Separate strike are also being undertaken by two bus operators, Arriva Rail London, Carlisle Support Services (revenue security officers on London Overground) and Hull Trains.
The 24-hour action will bring the railway to an effective standstill and comes after the union received no further offers from the rail industry to help come to a negotiated settlement.
In separate disputes, Arriva Rail London members, Hull Trains and bus workers at First Group Southwest will also take strike action on the same day.
RMT said that with workers struggling to cope with the escalating cost of living crisis, 1 October is set to see strikes by a number of unions in various industries. Earlier today (20 September), the drivers’ union ASLEF confirmed industrial action by its members at 12 operators on 1 October.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Transport workers are joining a wave of strike action on 1 October, sending a clear message to the government and employers that working people will not accept continued attacks on pay and working conditions at a time when big business profits are at an all-time high.
“The Summer of Solidarity we have seen will continue into the Autumn and Winter if employers and the government continue to refuse workers reasonable demands.
“We want a settlement to these disputes where our members and their families can get a square deal. And we will not rest until we get a satisfactory outcome.”
Responding to the announcement about strikes, a Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: “A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: “These strikes will once again hugely inconvenience the very passengers the industry needs to support its recovery from the ongoing impact of the pandemic. They range from those left out of pocket because they can’t get to work, to people missing vital appointments and to thousands of London marathon participants, who, after months of training, will have their journeys to London disrupted at the weekend. “The strikes are not in the long-term interests of rail workers or building a sustainable rail industry. We want to give our people a pay rise, but without the reforms we are proposing, we simply cannot deliver pay increases. Revenue is still around 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels, no business can survive that scale of upheaval without implementing change.
“The actions of union leaders have very real consequences: every strike day takes more money out of their members’ pockets. We want to see the industry and its people thrive – we are asking the unions’ leadership to do the right thing, call off these damaging strikes and work with us to make that happen.”
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