UK Railway Workers Announce Large-Scale Strike Over Year-End and New Year Period

UK Rail and Maritime Union "Strike from Mid-Next Month to Early Next Year"
Inflation Rate 11%... Demanding Wage Increases and Improved Working Conditions
US Retailers Urge Political Intervention Amid Rail Strike Threat

The entrance of Euston Station in London, UK, was blocked due to a union strike on the 5th of last month. Photo by EPA, Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Culture Young Intern Reporter] More than 40,000 British railway workers are planning a large-scale strike during the year-end and New Year period. The UK Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union (RMT) announced on the 22nd (local time) that railway union members will strike four times, totaling eight days, between mid-December and early January next year. The union, having failed to reach an agreement with 14 railway operating companies and the railway infrastructure organization Network Rail, has announced large-scale strikes on December 13-14, 16-17, and January 3-4, 6-7 next year.

On strike days, only about one-fifth of the usual trains will operate. Additionally, the RMT declared that from December 18 to January 2 next year, including the Christmas period, they will not work overtime. Hundreds of employees of the security company G4S, which transports cash to major banks such as Barclays and HSBC and supermarkets like Tesco, also decided to strike for 48 hours in early December, the union announced on the same day.

In the UK, with inflation exceeding 11% annually, workers are demanding wage increases and improved working conditions. Strikes demanding higher wages are continuing in the public sector, including railways, post offices, telecommunications companies, and sanitation workers. A significant number of nurses belonging to the National Health Service (NHS), including those at major hospitals in London, have also resolved to start striking within the year.

The Ministry of Transport, the Home Office, and immigration officers are scheduled to begin striking from mid-December, and about 70,000 administrative staff, security, cleaning, and catering workers at 150 universities have announced strikes at the end of this month. Mick Lynch, General Secretary of the RMT, said, "This strike will show how important our union members are to the operation of the country," adding, "It will also send a clear message demanding job security, wages, and working conditions."

In the United States, as the possibility of a railway strike arises, retailers are urging political intervention to prevent it. The Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), which includes Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and Home Depot, expressed concern that "a railway strike would cause massive disruption to logistics nationwide."

RILA stated, "Rail transport stoppages cause difficulties in delivering perishable food and timely e-commerce shipments," and "would exacerbate the inflationary pressures already facing the U.S. economy." They urged, "We call on policymakers to use all means to prevent this self-inflicted economic disaster," and insisted, "If no agreement is reached with the union, Congress must intervene."

The National Retail Federation (NRF) also requested immediate congressional intervention to prevent rail transport disruptions. Concerns are rising that a nationwide railway strike could occur within two weeks after the largest U.S. railway union rejected a tentative agreement mediated by the White House.