Government modernising railways despite ‘unions’ best efforts’, says Shapps June 29, 2022 The UK Government is modernising the railway network “despite the best efforts of unions,” Grant Shapps said today. The transport secretary’s comments came as he announced £1bn worth of funding to replace the Victorian signalling system along the East Coast Main Line (ECML) – which connects London to Edinburgh – with a digital one. “We’re [...]
Shapps warns RMT the country ‘coped’ with three strikes due to ‘collapse of commuting’ June 27, 2022 Grant Shapps has warned most of the country “coped” during last week’s strikes due to the “collapse of commuting” and increasingly hybrid working culture. Commenting after the third day of industrial action by tens-of-thousands of RMT union members, he said they had struck to “ defend indefensible working practices” which needed an update. Writing in [...]
Rail strikes spill into tube network, affecting journeys on Overground, Bakerloo and Elizabeth lines June 23, 2022 The chaos and disruption brought by the ongoing rail strike has once again spilled into London’s tube network, affecting journeys on the Overground as well as the Bakerloo and Elizabeth lines. Overground services are running on a reduced schedule as trains between Romford and Upminster, Sydenham and Crystal Palace as well as between Surrey Quays [...]
Rail strikes to halt commutes again as RMT union boss warns of more to come June 23, 2022 Rail strikes are set to hit London and the rest of the country again today, as union members picket outside an unusually quiet Euston Station. While Tube services are running, delays are expected to hang over from yesterday’s bout of industrial action. RMT union general secretary Mick Lynch, who joined picketers for the second of [...]
A summer of discontent is the unions’ fight for power in the modern workforce June 23, 2022 This week, London was awash with bikes and e-scooters as the biggest rail strikes in thirty years kicked off on Tuesday. Other unions were watching closely as they plan for their own industrial action. Some are calling it the summer of discontent, as a waterfall of job losses and long hours stir up a storm [...]
London business groups: TfL funding deal ‘vital’ to capital’s economy as Khan warns on ‘managed decline’ June 22, 2022 LONDON business groups, think-tanks and property firms have warned the capital’s transport network needs a long-term funding settlement from central government or risk ‘decades’ of damage. Transport for London’s (TfL) latest emergency bailout with the Department for Transport runs out Friday – risking what the network’s chiefs have described as “managed decline” of the service. [...]
Londoners rely on e-bikes and scooters as strikes bring capital to standstill June 22, 2022 The number of Londoners using cycle and e-scooter hire schemes as well as ride-hailing apps surged on Tuesday after the combination of tube and railway strikes brought the capital to a standstill. According to Transport for London (TfL) figures, bike hires more than doubled yesterday, going from an average of 27,000 to 67,000 in what [...]
Google searches for ‘remote jobs’ explode by more than 260 per cent as UK crippled by train strikes June 22, 2022 There has been an explosion in searches for ‘remote jobs’ in wake of recent train strikes by more than 260 per cent. New analysis of Google search engine figures show the term has been searched at the highest level in UK internet history. This is despite politicians such as Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg and host of [...]
Starmer under pressure to punish strike-supporting Labour MPs June 22, 2022 Labour opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer faces a test of authority from his own frontbench after many shadow team members backed the strikes.
Welcome aboard, this is a driverless train: unions begin their own demise June 22, 2022 As the summer sun makes the UK feel like a Mediterranean resort, we are also about to see the perils of the labour problems that Southern Europe was so often bedeviled by. Trains have ground to a halt, the London Underground has stopped, and buses are stuck in their depots. Millions of pounds will be [...]