A strike by train drivers caused major disruption in rail transport in the United Kingdom on Saturday August 13, as social unrest multiplied under the effect of soaring prices. The strike call by the Aslef union concerns nine regional operators. Some have canceled all of their traffic like Heathrow Express (in English)which serves London’s largest airport.
Aslef justified this action (in English) as a measure “of last resort” faced with the refusal of their employers and the government, which he accuses of passing the buck, to grant them the wage increases requested. The union explains that the drivers have not obtained a raise for three years, a situation which is becoming “unacceptable” at a time when the UK is going through a severe cost of living crisis.
Many social movements in the country
Inflation is already over 9% and the Central Bank is forecasting it at over 13% in the fall, when energy bills are set to take another massive hike, the second this year. The operators say they are ready to grant increases but in exchange for reforms to the status of railway workers. The government, for its part, is calling for moderation, citing in particular the massive public aid that has kept private operators afloat during the confinements linked to Covid-19.
Faced with the unprecedented fall in purchasing power collected by households, social movements are multiplying in the United Kingdom. In transport, railway workers followed a historic strike in June, followed by regular days of action, two of which are still scheduled for next week at the call of the RMT union.
Another example of this “summer of discontent”, strikes are also planned in the days or weeks to come in the London Underground, at the postal group Royal Mail, at the telecom operator BT or even by the group’s journalists. Reach, which publishes tabloids, among other DailyMirror and Daily Express.