Scott Jones, East London Socialist Party
Departure boards at train stations will once again be showing ‘Nul Points’ on 12-13 May as Liverpool hosts Eurovision and rail workers continue to strike over pay.
RMT members will walk out on 13 May after the union rejected the latest pay deal from train operators, and train drivers in Aslef strike the day before. The current offer to the RMT is a measly 4%, when inflation is running at over twice that (see p6-7 for more). It will kick off again on 31 May and 3 June – the day of the FA Cup final – when Aslef and the RMT strike separately on those days respectively.
RMT and Aslef members in the Socialist Party say that we must fight for maximum coordination of action against the bosses and the Tory government, especially between striking rail unions and also other workers in struggle.
Even if they were running, regular users know that they would pay a fortune for an unreliable service, crammed in, on mostly old trains. And that’s just the rolling stock. A leaked Network Rail report recently admitted that more delays are inevitable in the coming years because current funding will not let Network Rail “operate, maintain and renew” its tracks, bridges and earthworks infrastructure. The train operating companies are also angling to close ticket offices in the future – anything to boost profits.
Although striking over pay, rail unions have campaigned and walked out over safety and staffing too, fighting for a safe, affordable, reliable rail network. The best way to guarantee that is to demand renationalisation of our railways under democratic workers’ control and management now, with compensation only to those who can prove they need it.
