In the face of inflation the UK was hit by

In the face of inflation, the UK was hit by massive transport strikes

In the middle of the school holidays, about every fifth train runs on this Saturday. The trade unions are demanding a wage increase in line with the rise in the cost of living.

Transport in the UK is hit by a new day of strikes for wages on Saturday, after a first strike by railway workers on Thursday and a strike on the London Underground on Friday amid high inflation. Because of this strike, in the middle of the school holidays on Saturday, only about every fifth train rides a salary increase adapted to the increase in the cost of living at the request of the demanding unions Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT), Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite.

Negotiations with the large number of private railway operators in the industry have so far come to a standstill. For his part, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who has been accused of deadlocking the situation, has criticized unions for opposing reforms to modernize the railways and pledged on Friday he could push them through. Saturday’s strike will particularly disrupt the movement of tourists, football fans going to matches and festival-goers. Train traffic on Sunday morning should also be affected.

The UK is currently experiencing a new volley of massive strikes affecting transport, post and ports in particular. It is the biggest strike in decades against inflation, which hit 10.1% over a year in July and could surpass 13% in October, the highest for a G7 country. Dockers at the port of Felixstowe (east England) – the country’s largest cargo port – start an eight-day strike on Sunday, threatening to paralyze much of the country’s freight traffic.

On the rail side, Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT, said the strikers had public support and said they were “right behind us”. “I think the British public is fed up with being ripped off by this government and British companies, with companies like BP and British Gas making huge profits while people struggle to make a living,” he said Saturday opposite the BBC. While rail workers’ strikes have continued in spasms since June, Mick Lynch pledged to continue to look for “solutions” but thought the prospect of new strikes was “very likely”.

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