Commuters in London will face disruption for a second straight day as rail workers strike across the country and the impact of Wednesday’s industrial action on the Tube lingers on.
Services into the capital will be restricted as workers across 18 companies represented by the RMT union walkout over a pay dispute. The underground network is likely to suffer delays in the morning.
About half-a-million British workers staged a mass walkout timed to disrupt Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt’s annual budget speech on Wednesday. Teachers, junior doctors, civil servants and workers on the London Underground joined picket lines demanding higher wages as they face a steep rise in the cost of living and double-digit inflation.
Chancellor Hunt mentioned industrial disputes as he set out major changes in his new budget. He stuck to the government’s position that bringing down inflation was the priority and said pay hike issues would be resolved in a manner that doesn’t lead to a price spiral.
Another rail union, the TSSA, which recently resolved its dispute, hit back at the new budget.
“We had a chancellor unable to offer a single word about the future of public transport,” TSSA Interim President Marios Alexandrou said in a statement.
The Rail Delivery Group, which negotiates on behalf of the train companies, said in a statement last week that 40-50% of trains will not run. It said meaningful progress could not be made in talks unless the RMT dropped the threat of strikes.
