“Sit at home!” – this was advised to tourists on the largest island of Europe – Britain. This time, it’s not covid that’s blocking Britain’s would-be tourists: they’re being immobilized by total air chaos and mass strikes that are turning their journeys into living hell, with the media claiming that “a new batch of rail strikes is set to damage the nation”. “Millions have been ordered to stay at home as rail strikes have already caused a week of suburban hell, with worse to come!” local media reported.
The next strike is scheduled for June 27 – it concerns the employees of Network Rail, the largest railway operator. The main reason is a dispute over wages, workplaces, and conditions. A 2% increase in railway wages was deemed “worthless”. Union leaders announced after rejecting a new offer from Network Rail which they described as “worthless”.
“The companies that operate the trains remain stubborn and refuse to make any new offers on job and pay guarantees. The strike is the only opportunity for both the rail industry and the government to understand that this dispute will continue as long as it takes until we get a negotiated settlement. The public who will be inconvenienced by our strike must understand that it is the policy of the Government and Network Rail that is causing the rail network to be closed for 24 hours,” the unions said.
The media mention that three strikes took place last month, one of which became the largest in the last 30 years. In some regions, services were completely suspended and passengers were left in a difficult situation.
In the aviation industry, by the way, things are not better. Heathrow Airport recently called on airlines with a proposal to… stop selling tickets for the summer, read the details in the story “Unprecedented: UK to stop selling tickets“.
REFERENCE: Great Britain, or rather the British Isles, shared by England, Scotland, and Wales, is officially considered the largest island in Europe. It is the seventh largest in the world. In addition, it ranks third in the world in terms of population, behind only Java and Honshu.