Union bosses blocked rail pay deal that could have averted strike
The TelegraphJul 26, 2022
Commuters across the UK faced travel disruption on Wed. as industrial action by rail unions over pay and conditions caused widespread delays and cancellations.
Over 40K members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) have ceased work for Network Rail, Greater Anglia, Northern Trains, and South Eastern among other groups. Although Transport for London (TfL) workers aren't involved, some London lines that share a track with Network Rail could be disrupted.
Not only is the union willfully causing disruption for the whole country despite generous offers - which they've rejected - they're doing so on a weak mandate from their members. The rules are in desperate need of updating to dilute the power of "travel union barons" to undemocratically bring the UK to a standstill.
Network Rail has refused to improve on their previous pay offers, suggesting a pay increase model on the condition of deteriorating working conditions and other ill-advised measures. The Conservative Party's plans to crack down on unions are the biggest attack on civil rights since the 19th century. Such draconian assaults on organized labor will further concentrate power in the hands of Tory politicians.
The main obstacle to a desperately needed general strike is not the Tories, but the Labour Party and the Trades Union Congress. The two groups have failed to show solidarity with the RMT in today's class war and their active opposition has even meant that strike ballots are being held at staggered intervals. Only an all-out stoppage, like that of 1926, will force the government into forging a better and more just way of life.