- Jon Cruddas: ‘Labour party must support’ rail workers in pay dispute The Guardian
- Rail strikes: RMT union refuses to rule out further strikes Channel 4 News
- Rail strikes across Britain: FT readers share their views Financial Times
- Train network grinds to a halt again amid fears shutdown will cause chaos at major events Daily Mail
Keir Starmer has been warned by one of his most experienced MPs he is in danger of making a huge error by failing to support railway workers in their pay dispute.
Jon Cruddas, who served as an adviser to Tony Blair on unions, said families faced a historic slump in their incomes. He said the Labour party should back workers fighting against effective pay cuts.
“We are seeing a unique historic contraction in family incomes,” he said. “The rail strikes are arguably the canary down the coalmine. You cannot dodge this. Labour has to be supportive of those seeking to defend their living standards.”
Starmer told Labour frontbench MPs last week they should stay away from picket lines during the rail strikes. Despite the edict, five frontbenchers attended the first day of industrial action on Tuesday.
Cruddas, the MP for Dagenham and Rainham, said Starmer’s team were trying to emulate New Labour by distancing themselves from the unions, but the economic circumstances were very different. He said the Tory government was trying to force working people to pick up the costs of the pandemic.
Keir Starmer is accused of trying to emulate New Labour by distancing the party from unions. Photograph: House of Commons/PAHe said: “Having printed hundreds of billions of pounds thereby fuelling inflationary pressures, the government is determined to ensure working people carry the can.
“This is what Labour has to contest. It is going to be tough, but there is no safe ground – no way of hiding from this, no tactical dodge. It was why the party was actually created. It requires real leadership.”
Mick Lynch, the RMT general secretary, said he would not tell Starmer how to run the party but it needed better policies to appeal to the rank and file workforce. He said Starmer “has not been able to tell working classes in traditional communities that ‘we’ve got a permanent message about making your lives better’.”
An Opinium poll for the Observer shows 24% of respondents consider Labour had been too supportive of the strikes, with just 13% considering they were too opposed. Twenty percent considered they had got the balance right. More than half of respondents (52%) said rail workers should be permitted to strike; 36% believed they should not.
The Trades Union Congress said this weekend an independent legal opinion of contracts between the Department for Transport (DfT) and train operating companies had confirmed the key role of the government in the negotiations. The legal opinion from Michael Ford QC concludes Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has “very extensive powers” over what can be agreed between rail operators and unions. The rail operators must agree a mandate with the transport secretary before discussing any changes to pay, conditions or restructuring.
Frances O’Grady, TUC general secretary, said: “The prime minister and his transport minister have misled the public. When they said the government has no role in handling this dispute, that’s not true.
“When they said negotiations are just for the employers and the unions, that’s not right. We always believed that ministers had the power to pull the train companies’ strings, behind the scenes. And this legal opinion on rail contracts confirms it.
“The transport secretary could unlock this dispute. Instead, he has toured TV studios throwing fuel on the fire. Britain deserves better. We deserve honesty from our government.”
A DfT spokesperson said: “It’s extremely misleading to suggest the transport secretary should get involved in these negotiations. His role is to protect the public purse, ensuring value for money for the hardworking people of this country.
“He’s required to set the limits of taxpayer support and ultimately sign off on any deal – not to be involved in negotiating one – and his contracts with operators allow him to do precisely that. We once again urge union representatives to get back round the negotiating table instead of calling further strikes.”
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Network Rail staff and workers at 13 UK train operating companies walked out in a dispute over pay, working practices and possible redundancies twice this week, with a further strike planned on Saturday. London Underground staff also went on strike on Tuesday. The announcement of the strikes triggered hundreds of comments from FT readers, with views split between those who supported rail workers standing up for themselves and those who felt they were seeking preferential treatment and that the unions have too much power. Views on the effects of the strikes ranged from commenters who said working from home had diminished the power of the RMT union, to a mother who said the delays were creating a new group of Conservative voters among frustrated schoolchildren. There was talk of a “summer of discontent” in the UK, as public sector unions representing doctors, nurses and teachers also tested the sentiment for walkouts, and readers were focused on the topics of pay and inflation. Some said that higher pay would increase the rate of price growth, while others argued that the increasing cost of living meant that workers had no choice but to demand more money to survive. UK business writer Cat Rutter Pooley concluded that tensions across industries were inevitable, but employers could do better than the government “if they pay up when they can, are upfront about when they can’t, and play nice”. A range of reader comments are published below. Join the conversation by sharing your views in the comment section.
Rail baron Mick Lynch warns he 'won't hesitate' to plunge Britain into more strike chaos - as unions grind railways to a halt for a THIRD time this week in pursuit of more pay and threaten chaos for Brits headed Rolling Stones and Ed Sheeran gigs
Just a fifth of services are running run and half of lines are closed as 40,000 workers hit the picket lines once more in another day of disruption.
More than 90 per cent of office workers in London stayed at home on the first day of strikes which mitigated the fallout at stations. But a bumper weekend of gigs and sport is expected to cause more chaos today.
Mr Lynch said this morning he has not ruled out further strike action this summer, and said the RMT will decide after discussions next week.
Responding to a statement by Network Rail to Sky News Breakfast about the progress of talks, he said: 'We've got to be very cautious about what they call progress.
'They may be progressing their agenda, but it doesn't mean that our members are going to accept those changes, just because the company wants them, so we've got to work that problem through with them.'
He added: 'So it's likely unless we get a lot of movement provided by the Government that the companies can change their stance that there will be more action, yes.'
He continued: 'We've not named dates. We're going to review where we are in the discussions next week, and then we will decide if we need to take more action.
'We have to get two weeks' notice of strikes anyway, that's the legislation, so there won't be any strikes in the next couple of weeks, but we'll decide that. But we won't hesitate to use more industrial action if we can't reach an agreement or if the companies carry through their threats to make people redundant.'
In London, beyond the Rolling Stones at Hyde Park and Sheeran playing Wembley Stadium, thousands more are desperate to get to gigs by Billie Eilish, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and comedian Joe Lycett.
There are also events across the country for Armed Forces Day while cricket supporters will battle their way to see England's third test against New Zealand at Headingley in Leeds.
Many seaside resorts will also have no services on Saturday, including Bournemouth, Dorset; Blackpool, Lancashire; Margate, Kent; Llandudno, North Wales; and Skegness, Lincolnshire. Cornwall will also have no trains.
Services will primarily be restricted to main lines, but even those will only be open between 7.30am and 6.30pm. Disruption will continue into Sunday.
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