Rail strike shows way to win over pay and much more

A new walkout on Wednesday has kicked off a round of strikes over pay by rail and telecoms workers this week.

Some 40,000 RMT union members on Network Rail and 14 train companies struck on Wednesday. TSSA union members working for Avanti West Coast also struck at the same time.

It was the first day of action since the three days of strikes last month that marked the beginning of a growing wave of class struggle. Since then, Network Rail bosses have offered a paltry pay offer and refused to drop their planned job cuts. And train operating companies haven’t budged on pay at all.

One striker at Liverpool Street station in east London, Jamie, told Socialist Worker it was “great to be back out, and I want more of it.”

And RMT East London branch chair Wale Agunbiade said the previous strikes had boosted workers’ confidence. “Everyone feels very confident being in a union now. And the number of members we have has gone up,” he told Socialist Worker. “The region I’m in has got at least 800 more members. It means people are galvanised and strengthening themselves.”

Workers slammed Network Rail bosses’ last offer—made on 13 July—of a 4 percent increase backdated to January and 2 percent next year, a real terms pay cut when inflation soars to near 12 percent.

• Thanks to Sadie Robinson
• For pictures and videos from across Britain of the strike go here on Instagram and here on Twitter