RMT members on a picket line outside Manchester Piccadilly railway station
(Picture: Getty Images)Transport strikes have again been in effect, with a major walkout on London Underground for the fifth time this year and more disruption to come on the railway on Saturday.
Some people have quietly enjoyed the benefits of being able to work from home, saving on travel fares and commuting time by not being able to get to the office.
However, not everyone has the privilege of remote working. Adam Tyndall, transport director at BusinessLDN, said: “The people who get hit hardest these days are those who can least afford it.
“It’s the people who have got to get to work or don’t get paid. It’s the half of London who can’t work from home. It’s small businesses who have been hardest hit by the pandemic — hospitality, leisure and retail in central London. It’s the key workers who have got to get to work to keep society functioning.”
While transport strikes have arguably made the biggest headlines due to their visible effects, industrial action has been occurring in numerous sectors. Members of the Communication Workers Union this week voted overwhelmingly in favour of Royal Mail strikes. Airline and airport staff, barristers, and BT employees are among some of the other workers taking strike action.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch gave his explanation for the wave of strikes: “What you are going to get is a wave of solidarity action, generalised strike action, synchronised action.
“And you’ll see it in every sector of the economy, in education, in health, wider parts of the transport system, in all sectors, the private sector as well.
“People are fed up with the way they’ve been treated. The British worker is basically underpaid and gets no dignity or respect in the workplace.”
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