Burak Bir
16 March 2023•Update: 16 March 2023
LONDON
Railway workers on Thursday began a 24-hour strike action, the first of four planned walkouts, which is expected to cause massive delays and disrupt transportation once again across the country.
People across Britain has once again hit by a wide range of railway strike as tens of thousands of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) members have started a series of walkout.
Last month, the union members rejected the pay offer from train operators and decided to take a four-day strike action on March 16, 18, 30 and April 1.
Following the walkout decision, the union said they are seeking "an unconditional offer" from 14 rail operators and Network Rail, which runs the rail network.
Early Thursday, the RMT criticized the rail operator bosses for "awarding themselves" while "lecturing" rail workers for pay restraint.
"... Bosses at seven rail companies have awarded themselves annual pay rises of between 15- 275% whilst most rail workers have been subject to a pay freeze," it said in the statement.
The train companies where staff are striking are Avanti West Coast, C2C, Chiltern, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, GTR (Thameslink, Great Northern and Southern), Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, LNER, West Midlands, (including London Northwestern Railway), Northern, South Western Railway, Southeastern, and TransPennine Express.
