Members of North Staffs Green Party joined striking rail workers at their picket line in Stoke-on-Trent last night.
The picket held at the Network Rail depot on Stoke Road was part of a national day of action called by the RMT union.
The strikes at depots and railway stations across the country saw more than
40,000 workers from 14 rail companies down tools.
The
strikes said RMT general secretary were a response to government interference
in negotiations and an attempt by train operating companies to “ransack our
members terms and conditions”.
He added that “RMT will continue to negotiate in good faith, but we will not be bullied or cajoled by anyone. “The government need to stop their interference in this dispute so the rail employers can come to a negotiated settlement with us” [1].
A spokesperson for North Staffs Greens said: " the rail network is integral to creating a sustainable transport system, rail workers go above and beyond every day to deliver a safe service, they deserve better than having their wages and terms and conditions cut".
The strikes took place two days after Labour leader Keir Starmer announced that the party will not be renationalizing the railways if it wins the next election in favour of taking what he described as a more “pragmatic approach” [2].
Green Party co-leader Adrian described this decision as "depressing",
adding that due to Labour’s attempt to “compete with the Tories will see
ordinary people and the planet pay the cost as a result” [3].
Labour MPs have been given instructions not to
attend picket lines in their constituencies and the party has given only
lukewarm support to the RMT's demands.
On the
day of the strikes Labour junior shadow transport minister Sam Tarry was sacked
for attending a picket line at Euston station, the party leadership claimed
this was not connected to supporting the strike, saying instead that he had
made unauthorised media appearance in which he spoke against agreed frontbench
positions.
The
sacking prompted criticism from trades union leaders, Sharon Graham of UNITE told
BBC News it showed that Labour was becoming “irrelevant to working people”,
Gary Smith of GMB said the party had scored a “huge own goal”.
A
spokesperson for the TSSA rail union of which Mr Tarry is a former member, also
speaking to the BBC said Labour were “deluded” if they thought they could win the
next general election by “pushing away seven million trades union members” [4].
The sacking
of Sam Tarry has also been criticised by Labour MPs, including Diane Abbott,
Rachel Maskell, John McDonnell, and Kim Johnson.
The Green Party supports the public ownership
of public services, including energy companies, railways and the Royal Mail and
reiterated this position following the announcement by the Labour leader.
A
spokesperson for North Staffs Greens said, “we are proud to back this strike
and the position taken by the co-leaders to support nationalization”, adding
that “our members will be out supporting RMT and all the other unions taking
industrial action”.
Further
strikes are set to take place on 13th August as train driver’s union
ASLEF joins RMT in taking action [5].
[1] https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-confirms-national-rail-strike-to-go-ahead22722/
[4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-62329521
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