RMT Strike Action Sat 26/8 and Sat 2/9

[HamworthyGoods]

More action announced.

https://twitter.com/rmtunion/status/1690010794392518656?s=46&t=p6Ywn3KbCJEQEYOPw8R8pQ

11 August 2023
RMT Press Office
20,000 RMT members working on every grade of the train operating companies will take further strike action in the national dispute over working conditions, pay and job security.
All members involved in the dispute are to take strike action and NOT BOOK ON for any shifts between:

• 0001 and 2359 hrs on Saturday 26th August 2023
• 0001 and 2359 hrs on Saturday 2nd September 2023

The union has been left with little choice but to take further action as the union has seen no improved or revised offer from the Rail Delivery Group.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said:

"The mood among our members remains solid and determined in our national dispute over pay job security and working conditions.

“We have had to call further strike action as we have received no improved or revised offer from the Rail Delivery Group.

“The reason for this is the government has not allowed them a fresh mandate on which discussions could be held.

“Our members and our union will continue fighting until we can reach a negotiated and just settlement.

END

The 14 train operating companies are as follows:

Chiltern Railways
Cross Country Trains
Greater Anglia,
LNER,
East Midlands Railway,
c2c,
Great Western Railway,
Northern Trains,
South Eastern
South Western Railway
Transpennine Express,
Avanti West Coast,
West Midlands Trains
GTR (including Gatwick Express)

 

[yorksrob]

Sorry, RMT are losing any sympathy from me with the constant Saturday action.

I blame the Government as well.

 

[BPN2022]

I genuinely think they are starting to waste their time. The government do not care one bit. It’s obvious

 

[Huntergreed]

Completely losing its impact and just becoming background noise which serves little purpose other than to cost their members a day’s pay and cause public inconvenience.

No sympathy from me.

 

[ComUtoR]

Needs to be a whole week.

Full support from me.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I am lucky they're going for Saturdays since I'm travelling on both Fridays before those days.

 

[Huntergreed]

I am lucky they're going for Saturdays since I'm travelling on both Fridays before those days.

Just be careful and check before you go as service may wind down quite a bit earlier on those Fridays.

 

[XCTurbostar]

As much as I support the unions, they have to understand that the constant Saturdays are just causing public inconvenience rather than convincing the Government to change it's position.

 

[bramling]

Needs to be a whole week.

Yes the prospect of a week’s worth of action on LU seems to have caused the powers that be to run frit.

I tend to agree with the general view that I’m not sure what purpose this Saturday action is serving. The government clearly don’t give a stuff if the Smith family can’t take the train for a day out in Brighton.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Just be careful and check before you go as service may wind down quite a bit earlier on those Fridays.

The first Friday ends with TfW and they'll be fine, the 2nd Friday aims to end at 6pm (with options to go earlier) so will probably also be fine.

 

[gazzaa2]

They really don't like working Saturdays, do they?

It's been over a year now and these Saturday strikes achieve nothing.

 

[paul332]

The unions are killing off the railways, committing industrial suicide. The travelling public has lost faith in rail and lost confidence in its ability to provide a reliable service. Why should government continue to invest in an industry whose workforce simply refuse to work? HS2, East West Rail, Northern Powerhouse ... What's the point in throwing good money after bad with these union muppets hell-bent on holding the industry to ransom. Just let the network slowly rot.

 

[duncombec]

I haven't felt the need to mention anything in a strike thread before, because they get ugly quickly and I know it's more complex than the media like to portray.

But when in a phone call to a friend on Wednesday 2nd August I could predict, accurately, it seems, that 26th would be a strike day because of the bank holiday weekend, it is well down the slope of being background noise. If I've counted correctly from Wikipedia's table (and discounting 25th and 26th December and suspensions) these are days 29 and 30 for the RMT since June 2022. Have the parties to the dispute got _any_ closer in that time?

 

[yorkie]

It's not going to make any difference to anything, except push people onto the roads and put them off rail.

And I doubt there is going to be anything worthwhile to discuss that hasn't been done to death; hardly anyone is going to change their views on this.

.... I could predict, accurately, it seems, that 26th would be a strike day because of the bank holiday weekend, ...

Yep I predicted this months ago and planned accordingly not to use any UK trains that weekend.

 

[bramling]

The unions are killing off the railways, committing industrial suicide. The travelling public has lost faith in rail and lost confidence in its ability to provide a reliable service. Why should government continue to invest in an industry whose workforce simply refuse to work? HS2, East West Rail, Northern Powerhouse ... What's the point in throwing good money after bad with these union muppets hell-bent on holding the industry to ransom. Just let the network slowly rot.

One reason is because (allegedly) the government don’t particularly like us travelling by car.

It's not going to make any difference to anything, except push people onto the roads and put them off rail.

And I doubt there is going to be anything worthwhile to discuss that hasn't been done to death; hardly anyone is going to change their views on this.

Yep I predicted this months ago and planned accordingly not to use any UK trains that weekend.

I get the feeling most people are waiting for a general election now. Sadly probably the more pertinent question / discussion is whether that will change anything.

 

[sbrignall72]

Oh wonderful, stops me spending my hard earned money going to Scotland, just won't go now. As I would be travelling back on the Saturday and we have no trains around us. Not surprised they have picked that day.

 

[Thirteen]

I think ASLEF's week long overtime ban are more effective than the RMT's two one day strikes.

 

[londonbridge]

Someone remind me whether or not Grand Central would be running on these days? Got my trains booked for Sunderland-Southampton, travelling up Friday evening and back to London after the game.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Someone remind me whether or not Grand Central would be running on these days? Got my trains booked for Sunderland-Southampton, travelling up Friday evening and back to London after the game.

GC are not involved

The 14 involved train operating companies are as follows:
Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express, Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains, GTR (including Gatwick Express)

 

[pompeyfan]

SWR passengers will be particularly affected by this action, victorious festival in Portsmouth on the 26th and Bournemouth air show on the 2nd. The festival in Portsmouth will be further affected by strike action called by Unite at First Bus Solent.

 

[yorksrob]

I get the feeling most people are waiting for a general election now. Sadly probably the more pertinent question / discussion is whether that will change anything.

The current lot have been determined not to move anything on for some time.

I'd have more faith in Screaming Lord Sutch reaching a settlement than the Government (and that's taking into account the fact that he's been dead for thirty years).

 

[Bletchleyite]

Needs to be a whole week.

Full support from me.

TBH the only way they're going to get anywhere is to go all-out until a resolution. But that'll cost a fortune.

As others say, anything else is just background noise, it's annoying but not annoying enough to turn people against the Government on their behalf.

 

[Sly Old Fox]

If it was going to work it would’ve worked a year ago.

 

[185]

RMT's opinion seems to be inconvenience leisure travellers, whilst not impacting 95-97% of working commuters.

If people aren't happy with this, perhaps an Aslef-esque approach, a week-on week-off overtime ban & work-to-rule would be a better way to remind Tories and their supporters that this won't go away.

Seeing some major disruption with the Aslef OT ban at present.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think ASLEF's week long overtime ban are more effective than the RMT's two one day strikes.

They're still just background noise, though it depends on how good the TOC is at managing it. LNR has been near unusable this week, whereas Chiltern (pre digging up Aylesbury) have been putting on workable emergency timetables with longer trains so it's been OK.

RMT's opinion seems to be inconvenience leisure travellers, whilst not impacting 95-97% of working commuters.

If people aren't happy with this, perhaps an Aslef-esque approach, a week-on week-off overtime ban & work-to-rule would be a better way to remind Tories and their supporters that this won't go away.

Tories and their supporters mostly drive to leisure stuff so don't really care.

 

[chrisp37]

I find it so disheartening. There are so many trips I would like to plan that rely on rail that I'm just not planning them at the moment. I have plans on 26 August that might be affected now too (requiring a train to East Grinstead, although on the last RMT strike day it seems those trains ran).

How can anyone plan to use the railways for any future trips at the moment when it seems that, without fail, every month at least one, but often more, weekends will be affected? I really do hope that eventually, even if it has to wait until an election, this issue is resolved and we can go back to planning future trips by rail again. At the moment, unless you're willing to leave it until 2 weeks before the date, it's just not viable to book anything that relies on rail.

 

[londonbridge]

GC are not involved

Thanks. So as long as I get up there okay on Friday evening my train back should run as planned hopefully. (I’m booked on 3:30 as its Sky lunchtime kickoff). Then once back at the cross I can get tube home.

 

[Snow1964]

Another two Saturdays with hourly service on my line, and load of members losing pay.

Never mind, will drive from Wiltshire to Scotland instead, as like most people, I have learnt how to work around the rail strikes by using car instead.

 

[windnoise69]

They really don't like working Saturdays, do they?

It's been over a year now and these Saturday strikes achieve nothing.

Saturdays have the largest number of Leisure customers. And it’s the leisure market that is the largest on the network right now.

 

[12LDA28C]

The unions are killing off the railways, committing industrial suicide. The travelling public has lost faith in rail and lost confidence in its ability to provide a reliable service. Why should government continue to invest in an industry whose workforce simply refuse to work? HS2, East West Rail, Northern Powerhouse ... What's the point in throwing good money after bad with these union muppets hell-bent on holding the industry to ransom. Just let the network slowly rot.

Utter rubbish. The whole point is that the Government isn't investing in rail, has zero interest in growing passenger numbers and instead wants to cut costs as much as it possibly can. It's the DfT that's killing off the railways if anyone is.