Explained | What is the reason behind the rail strike in the U.K.?

An estimated 40,000 workers at Network Rail and 13 train operating companies in Great Britain staged a walk out on June 23 and 25

The story so far: Train services across the U.K. were severely hit on June 21 as the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) launched the network’s biggest strike since 1989. The union has decided to shut down the network’s services on June 21, 23, and 25 since the employers were unable to reach a negotiation with the RMT. The London Underground RMT members staged a strike on June 21 due to a separate dispute over pensions and job losses.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) is a trade union that has members from almost all sectors of the transport industry in the U.K., including mainline and underground railways, shipping and offshore, buses and road freight. The organisation has more than 83,000 members.

The RMT union was formed on September 10, 1990 when U.K.’s National Union of Railwaymen and National Union of Seamen merged together.

Currently, the RMT union has over 200 branches throughout Great Britain. These branches are grouped into 11 regional councils and their main function is to “eliminate non-unionism" and “recruit members employed by those employers with whom the trade union has negotiating rights”.

RMT union members have decided to go on strike for three days to draw attention to their demands for increased pay in line with the inflation.

Britain’s annual inflation rate reached 9 per cent in April 2022, marking a 40-year high. The Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) rose by 9.1 per cent in the 12 months leading to May 2022, up from 9 per cent in April, the Office for National Statistics said. In stark contrast, the CPI in May 2021 was 2.1 per cent.

According to the RMT union, Network Rail (that operates and develops most of Britain’s railway infrastructure) and train operating companies are planning to cut thousands of jobs which will “make the railways unsafe”. These organisations have also put their employees through multi-year pay freezes, the RMT union said in a press statement.