Explainer-in-brief: The rail strike coming to a station near you
The biggest rail strike in thirty years will be hitting the UK next week, on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It will involve thirteen operators on the national network, including South Eastern and Western Railways, Northern and Greater Anglia.
There will be trains still working, but they will start running later and finish earlier, from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm. Passengers have broadly been advised not to travel during the strike days, as only a fifth of services will run. Disruption will likely take place also on non-strike days during the week as a result.
The workers are striking over pay cuts and job losses. Talks between the government and their union, the RMT, fell through. The strike is so big it’s become political: Keir Starmer has openly said he’s against it – signalling a diversion from the historic alliance between Labour and unions – and has criticised the Conservative Party for not intervening in stopping it.