LONDON: Due to pressure from rising costs of living and decades-high inflation, train drivers initiated a fresh strike, disrupting rail services throughout most of the United Kingdom, including popular tourist routes.
Express services to London’s Gatwick, Stansted, and Heathrow airports will also be impacted by the three-day rolling strike being participated in by members of the Aslef union, which represents train drivers.
The “cost of living crisis created by the economic ineptitude of the Tories (Conservatives) that have been in power for 14 years,” according to union leader Mick Whelan, was the reason behind the strike action.
A general election is anticipated to be called by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak later this year, as current polls indicate that Keir Starmer’s main opposition Labour party will handily defeat his government.
For wage increases, workers in a variety of industries, including healthcare, law, education, and the docks, have gone on strike.
The latest Aslef strike was scheduled to begin on the first day, affecting five major rail operating firms.
On Saturday and Monday, more train drivers from various firms would strike, and overtime prohibitions would also be put into place.
Members of the RMT rail union, which covers a variety of train workers, approved a pay agreement last November, putting an end to more than a year of walkouts.
