‘Spring of discontent’: wave of strikes loom for Covid-hit railways

theguardian.com:

A “spring of discontent” is looming for the railways as unions and senior rail officials prepare for widespread industrial action in response to curbs in government emergency funding that spell job cuts, pay freezes and closures.

Talks between the industry and unions to negotiate the £1.5bn-£2bn savings demanded by the Treasury were held through last year on the basis of no compulsory redundancies and no walkouts. That agreement lapsed at the end of 2021 – leaving unions warning of immediate strike action should any jobs be axed.

That outcome now appears inevitable, with formal proposals for cuts, including substantial job losses in maintenance roles to save £100m annually at Network Rail, expected in the coming weeks. Train operators will try to cut staff costs in a move to contactless ticketing. Mick Lynch, the leader of rail’s biggest union, the RMT, says: “It’s our belief that they want to close virtually every ticket office on the mainline railway.”

The roots of the dispute lie with the coronavirus pandemic, which has upended the finances of rail firms – potentially even more than those of the London Underground, where two 24-hour strikes earlier this month closed the tube. Passenger numbers have fluctuated similarly on both networks, from deserted at the start of the pandemic to between 60 and 70% of pre-Covid levels now.

Yet the past two years have brought other changes that mean some are questioning how much power a stoppage still holds to disrupt on national rail and London transport.

Tim Shoveller, a Network Rail regional director, said: “Even as passenger numbers start to recover, we know travel habits and passenger demand have changed and the industry has to change, too. We cannot keep relying on government