2022 United Kingdom railway strikes

rdf:langString 2022 United Kingdom railway strikes

rdf:langString Mick Lynch, RMT General Secretary * Mick Whelan, ASLEF General Secretary * Manuel Cortes, TSSA General Secretary * Sharon Graham, UNITE General Secretary

rdf:langString Strikes and protests

rdf:langString United Kingdom

rdf:langString *UK train operating companies * London Underground * Network Rail * Department for Transport

rdf:langString *Rail unions: ** National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers ** Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen ** Transport Salaried Staffs' Association ** Unite the Union

rdf:langString Ongoing

rdf:langString The 2022 United Kingdom railway strikes are an ongoing industrial dispute in the United Kingdom that has seen the largest instance of industrial action in the country since 1989. It commenced on 21 June after members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) walked out over wages and planned changes to working practices that would involve some redundancies. The strike followed the collapse of discussions between the RMT and several rail companies, and involved around 40,000 rail workers from Network Rail and 13 train operators; they were also joined by staff from London Underground who staged a 24-hour strike on 21 June. Disruption impacted the entire railway network of Great Britain, with staff of the main train operators in Scotland and Wales, who were not part of the strike, also disrupted as the trains were unable to operate on Network Rail infrastructure. The strike did not impact Northern Ireland. RMT union members voted to strike after their demand for a 7% pay rise was rejected in favour of a 3% offer, and an initial three days of industrial action were scheduled for 21, 23 and 25 June, with further disruption taking place in July and August, and over the following autumn and winter. They were subsequently joined by members of other rail unions, with the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) and Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) voting to take strike action. Strikes planned for September were suspended following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September. The RMT union claimed that Network Rail had refused to make any further improvements on their pay offer, and made threats on redundancies and pay if strike action was not withdrawn. The action took place against the backdrop of a cost of living crisis in the UK, with the railways one of several industries to experience industrial unrest during the summer of 2022. This led to media speculation of a possible "summer of discontent" involving widespread industrial unrest. The strike affected 80% of rail services across England, Scotland and Wales, with services that were running largely restricted to main lines and urban railways. People were urged to make only essential journeys by train on strike days, and many commuters chose to work from home as they had done during the COVID-19 pandemic. The UK Government announced plans to change the law to ensure "minimum service levels" during strikes by repealing legislation that prevents agency workers being used to replace striking staff, and on 11 July the House of Commons approved the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses (Amendment) Regulations 2022, with the regulations coming into force on 21 July. A deal with the workers was reached in Scotland over pay, benefits and job security ending the strikes in Scotland, and negotiations are ongoing in Wales. No overall deal has been reached with the UK government.