Train services will continue to be disrupted on Wednesday by this week’s rail strikes as talks resume in a bid to resolve a bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
Fewer than one in five trains ran on Tuesday after members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) on Network Rail (NR) and 13 train operators staged the first of three walkouts, with strikes set to follow on Thursday and Saturday.
RMT members on London Underground also went on strike on Tuesday.
“Fantastic” turnout
The joint action caused travel chaos across the UK, with journeys taking longer and roads rammed with traffic as people switched to cars or buses to get to work.
The chaos will continue on Wednesday, with only 60 per cent of trains running, mainly due to a delay to the start of services as signallers and control room staff are not doing overnight shifts.
The RMT will meet with NR and the train companies on Wednesday in another attempt to break the deadlock.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the turnout at picket lines on Tuesday was “fantastic” and had exceeded expectations in the union’s campaign for job security, defending conditions and a decent pay rise.
Twitter response
But it was the response of a tweet on social media that really got people talking.
Richard Burgon joined Labour MPs on the picket line at Victoria Station on Tuesday, sharing his solidarity with the RMT Union.
He said the workers had been “forced by this Tory Government” into industrial action, which has ground most of the country to a halt.
Neil Simpson decided to take the opportunity to point this out, saying: “Meanwhile I cannot work this week because of the strike.”
But eagle-eyed RMT spotted a small issue with the Twitter post, and felt duty-bound to point it out with this quite wonderful tweet:
Related: Mick Lynch wins plaudits for media performances that leave presenters completely unnerved
