Britain hit by biggest rail strike in 30 years as Johnson vows to stay firm

LONDON • Tens of thousands of workers yesterday walked out on the first day of Britain's biggest rail strike in 30 years, with passengers facing further chaos as both the unions and government vowed to stick to their guns in a row over pay.

Some of the more than 40,000 rail workers set to strike yesterday, tomorrow and on Saturday gathered at picket lines from dawn, causing major disruption across the network and leaving major stations deserted.

The London Underground train network was also mostly closed due to a separate strike.

Tube journeys were down 95 per cent yesterday, with one million London commuters deciding to stay home.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is under pressure to do more to help Britons facing the toughest economic hit in decades, said the strike would harm businesses still recovering from Covid-19.

Unions have said the rail strikes could mark the start of a "summer of discontent", with teachers, medics, waste disposal workers and even barristers heading for industrial action as inflation pushes 10 per cent.

"The British worker needs a pay rise," Mr Mick Lynch, secretary-general of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union told Sky News. "They need job security and decent conditions."

During the morning rush hour, roads were busier than normal with cars, bikes and pedestrians.

Hospital staff said some colleagues slept at work overnight to maintain care.

Mr Johnson told his Cabinet the strikes were "wrong and unnecessary", and said his message to the country was that it needed to be ready to "stay the course" as improvements to the way railways are run were in the public's interest. He said that "too high demands on pay will also make it incredibly difficult to bring to an end the current challenges facing families around the world with rising costs of living".

Mr Johnson was slated to tell the Cabinet yesterday that his government is seeking to enforce pay restraint on public sector workers, according to a statement from his office.

A survey by pollsters YouGov earlier this month found public opinion divided, with around half of the respondents opposed to the action and just over a third saying they supported it.

Mr Leo Rudolph, a 36-year-old lawyer who walked to work yesterday, said he would become more disgruntled the longer the dispute holds. "This isn't going to be an isolated occurrence, right?"

Britain is not alone in facing strikes. Action over the cost of living in Belgium caused disruption at Brussels Airport on Monday, while Germany's most powerful union is pushing for large wage increases. In France, President Emmanuel Macron is facing unrest over pension reforms.

Britain's economy initially rebounded strongly from the Covid-19 pandemic, but a combination of labour shortages, supply chain disruption, inflation and post-Brexit trade problems has prompted warnings of a recession.

The government says it is supporting millions of the poorest households, but warns that above-inflation pay rises would damage the fundamentals of the economy and prolong the problem.

Britain's railways were effectively nationalised in the pandemic, with train operators paid a fixed fee to run services, while the tracks and infrastructure are managed by state-owned Network Rail.

The RMT wants its members to receive a pay rise of at least 7 per cent, but it has said that Network Rail offered only 2 per cent, with another 1 per cent linked to industry reforms that it opposes.

The government has been criticised for not being involved in the talks. Ministers say unions must resolve it directly with employers.

REUTERS, BLOOMBERG