The Rail Strikes

Ed Davey writing in the Guardian today brings some sense to the crisis.

"This week has left the country drained after government ministers reverted to divisive political playbooks last seen in the 1970s and early 1980s.

The Liberal Democrats are against the rail strikes and if a summer of discontent is not to turn into a winter of discontent and full-on stagflation, ministers must step back from the brink.

The position of lower-paid workers across our country should be at the forefront of ministers' thinking - not that of the highest earners in the City, whose pay and bonuses the government announced this week would not be limited in any way."

Ed states that Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps cannot pretend to be innocent bystanders in the dispute as ministers now directly set and agree the budgets and strategic policies of the rail companies.

Ed calls for an emergency Cobra meeting to kickstart a practical compromise and to keep Britain moving. Cobra must also ensure low-paid frontline workers - who we all depend on - are not out of pocket from this strike and can get to work. It is time the Government treated low-paid rail workers with respect and not as a political opportunity.

Read the whole text at:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/21/johnson-shapps-rail-strike-transport