R. Veronica Han (London);
United kingdom;
2022-06-21 20:42:00
The day started on London’s streets a little quieter than expected, but in the south traffic congestion was reported to be a third higher than average, at 65 per cent, and a total of 871 traffic jams were created.
London’s Underground network, the backbone of public transport, was just a side player in Tuesday’s strike, and the national shutdown was due to the shutdown of rail workers affiliated with the RMT union. More than one in five trains across the country carried no passengers, and empty train stations such as London Euston or Waterloo showed a frightening picture.
The worst rail strike in thirty years is officially “only” for three days, but traffic experts have cast a shadow over the entire week. Already on Tuesday, many students were forced to go to school by taxi because they could not accommodate crowded buses or were moving at a slow pace. Particularly big losers in layoffs are those awaiting medical treatment, whose appointments have been canceled by hospitals. The chaos has only been mitigated by the fact that so many people have been working from home since the coronavirus pandemic.
Boris Johnson, who quickly went to work after hedge nose surgery on Monday morning, called the strikes “inappropriate and unnecessary” at Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, while also asking the traveling public to persevere. The prime minister added that demands for excessive wage hikes will only lead to more inflation. RMT is asking for a 7.1 percent increase instead of quoting a 3 percent rate from rail companies.
The Conservative Party leader may have angered civil servants by saying their salary increases should be proportionate and balanced.
Nor did the Minister of Transport get a good score among those involved, who said the “guild of barons” had taken the entire country hostage. Grant Shapps excluded the government from interfering in the trial because it was the job of independent employers and wage regulators.
A law on the possibility of replacing strikers with others could be introduced in Parliament on Thursday. The difference between the positions of the ruling party and the Labor party is shown by the fact that Sir Keir Starmer, who led the latter, did not condemn the demobilization, and showed 16 members of the shadow cabinet, including three members of the shadow cabinet, to strike.
