Waterloo station, London, UK.

Waterloo station, London, UK.
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New UK rail strikes will hit Christmas travel

Industrial action to start on Christmas Eve and continue through to December 27.

Travellers planning festive getaways in the UK over Christmas have been hit by the announcement of fresh rail strikes starting on Christmas Eve.

The RMT union previously announced two 48-hour stoppages in the run up to Christmas – December 13-14 and 16-17 – but have decided to extend the industrial action, a further walk-out starting at 6pm on December 24 and running through to December 27.

The news was greeted with dismay by Network Rail, the company that owns and runs most of the UK’s railways, with chief negotiator Tim Shoveller claiming the RMT was “playing fast and loose with people’s Christmas plans”.

Long-running dispute

The RMT, the UK’s biggest rail union, has been involved in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions, and its General Secretary Mick Lynch said he regretted the inconvenience, but claimed it was caused by “the government who are running the playbook and the strategy for the railway companies and directing what’s going on”. 

Around 40,000 rail workers across the network are expected to walk out on the strike days this month, the action hitting the hospitality sector at what is their busiest time of the year in the run up to Christmas.

Adam Murray
Adam Murray
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