Patriotic conservatives should back the rail strikes
If we believe in the proud British tradition of supporting families, the RMT strikes should have our full support.
There is no doubt that the RMT Union strikes are going to cause disruption. It’s regrettable that it will occur during a cost-of-living crisis, and public anger is justifiable. However, anger against the Union is exactly what’s causing industrial action to continue.
If we analyse why the union is striking, we will see the same issues as during the P&O Ferries dispute – a dispute in which the public was on side with the workers.
To start with, there is an overall funding cut to both National Rail and Transport for London at a time when the Government claims to support better public transport as part of its so-called ‘Levelling-Up’ agenda. Thousands of safety jobs and desk jobs are set to be cut, fire and re-hire shenanigans are causing a walk-back on people’s job terms and conditions, pay freezes are taking place amid inflation and hours are set to grow longer, with benefits such as a stable pension being removed.
This not just a problem with the railways but with the wider UK economy. Gone are the days of stable work and companies sticking to the rules and looking after their employees as a family. Now it’s about minimum wage, zero-hours contracts and little job stability where companies will break rules and get away with it.
The trend of the gig economy should seriously worry small-c conservatives who ought to be the first in line to defend an economy that puts British workers first and deliver stable services for everyone. The Government have the power to broker negotiations, and the more support they give to the Union the more the companies will have to make sensible proposals and end the disruption. The more the public rally against poorly paid railway workers, the less leverage the Union has and the more the companies will stonewall.
If we believe in the proud British tradition of supporting families, the RMT strikes should have our full support.
