train strike

The 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes are an industrial dispute in the United Kingdom (UK). The UK has seen its largest incidence of industrial action since 1989, beginning in the second Johnson ministry and continuing through the Truss ministry and Sunak ministry. The railway strikes commenced on 21 June 2022 after members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) walked out over wages, planned changes to working practices – involving the removal of guards from trains, the reduction in the number of open ticket offices, and an increase in the age at which people could claim the young persons and senior citizen card – and the threat of redundancies. The disputes in Scotland and Wales were resolved by the RMT in December 2022, and by ASLEF in May 2023. In much of England the RMT dispute was resolved in November 2023. As of January 2024, the RMT dispute remains active in London, while the ASLEF dispute is active across all of England.
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 in England; they were joined by staff from London Underground who staged a 24-hour strike on 21 June. Disruption affected 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 affect Northern Ireland.
RMT union members voted to strike after a 3% pay rise was offered in response to their demand for a 7% rise, 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 said 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to make any further improvements on their pay offer, and made threats on redundancies and pay if strike action was not withdrawn.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 among industries to experience industrial unrest from the summer of 2022. 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 which came into force on 21 July.
In Scotland, a deal with ScotRail workers was reached, benefits and job security ending some strikes in Scotland, while negotiations were held in Wales. On 16 December a pay and employment deal was reached with between the Transport for Wales and the rail unions. The deal in Wales was accepted by all parties involved in the dispute. No overall deal was reached with the UK government.

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