LONDON: More railway workers are to go on strike in Britain later this month in growing disputes over pay, jobs and pensions, threatening massive travel chaos later this month.
Members of Unite at Transport for London (TfL) and London Underground will join a walkout on June 21, crippling services on the underground.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union has already announced a Tube strike on that day, while its members at Network Rail and 13train operators will walk out on June 21, 23 and 25.
The strikes will be the biggest outbreak of industrial action in the industry in a generation.
The disputes are over pay, jobs and pensions, with the unions complaining that railway staff who worked through the pandemic are facing job cuts, a pay freeze and attacks on employment conditions.
Unite said 1,000 of its members in London will take action over pay and warnings of plans to cut pensions.
Transport for London insists no decisions or proposals have been made.
Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is not acceptable that the dedicated workers at TfL and London Underground are being told to pay the price of the pandemic with their pensions, pay cuts and threats to their jobs.”
Talks between Network Rail (NR) and the union are expected to be held in the next few days, sources told the PA news agency.
NR is also drawing up contingency plans, with the strikes expected to cause disruption to services for six days, from the first walkout on Tuesday, June 21 to the day after the third strike.
Fewer than one in five trains are likely to run, and only between 7am and 7 pm, probably only on main lines.
The strikes threaten widespread travel disruption during a number of major events, including concerts, Test match cricket and the Glastonbury festival.
Glastonbury starts on June 22, while that week will also see England play New Zealand in a Test match in Leeds, the British Athletics Championships in Manchester, and gigs in London’s Hyde Park by Sir Elton John (June 24) and The Rolling Stones (June 25). There will also be a Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in London on June 24 and 25 and it is Armed Forces Day on June 25. — dpa
