The Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union's planned rail strikes will be taking place next week, with widespread disruption and halted services set to cause chaos for commuters in the East Midlands on June 21, 23 and 25.
The RMT said its strike action is due to a dispute relating to pay and possible job losses. The first strike day will coincide with strike action by London Underground workers over jobs and pensions. The union said it will be the biggest strike on the railways since 1989.
People working for 13 train operating companies across the UK will take part in the strike. It comes as union members voted overwhelmingly for action last month in growing rows over pay and job losses. The RMT said rail staff who worked through the pandemic were facing pay freezes and hundreds of job cuts.
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Train operators - including East Midlands Railway - have now started to release information about what services they intend to run during next week’s rail strikes. Rail workers are walking out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. There will also be disruption on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
East Midlands Railway services will be reduced between Tuesday and Sunday, just one train per hour will run in each direction on most routes. Rail Replacement Bus (RRB) services will not be provided where lines are closed as there is not enough capacity to meet demand.
Customers are asked to only travel by train if absolutely necessary. If customers are travelling, they are asked to plan ahead and leave extra time for their journey. This includes the days between strikes as EMR expects the knock-on effects of the strikes to impact services on the following days - particularly on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
Will Rogers, Managing Director for EMR, said: “We are extremely disappointed the RMT have decided to strike on the 21, 23 and 25 June. This is the wrong decision for the railway and communities we serve.
“There will be changes to our normal timetable and some parts of our network will have no train services on strike days and other lines will have a reduced level of service. I would urge all customers to think carefully about their journeys next week – and make alternative arrangements if possible.”
A total of thirteen train operators are going to be be affected by the planned strikes, as well as members of the RMT at Network Rail. RMT members who have voted in favour of striking include railway workers from Avanti West Coast, c2c, Chiltern Railways, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, Greater Anglia, GWR, LNER, Northern, Southeastern, South Western Railway, TransPennine Express and West Midlands Trains.
In a statement on the RMT page, Mick Lynch, general secretary, said: “Today’s overwhelming endorsement by railway workers is a vindication of the union’s approach and sends a clear message that members want a decent pay rise, job security and no compulsory redundancies.
“Our NEC will now meet to discuss a timetable for strike action from mid-June, but we sincerely hope ministers will encourage the employers to return to the negotiating table and hammer out a reasonable settlement with the RMT."
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