Thousands of rail workers in the UK were striking on Tuesday in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions, forcing millions to work from home and causing chaos for those attempting to travel.
The planned walkout by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union, the industry’s largest, signals the start of a month of rail disruption.
Trains are only running from 7.30am to 6.30pm on this week’s strike days, although many parts of the country will have no services, including most of Scotland and Wales.
But with further walkouts planned, Network Rail has warned there will be significantly reduced services, with trains more crowded and likely to start later and finish earlier until January 8.
It comes amid a cold snap that has brought heavy snow and plunging temperatures to many parts of the country and already affected travel on the railway and roads.
The UK is experiencing a wave of industrial action on a scale not seen since the 1980s, fuelled by energy and food price hikes.
Nurses, postal workers and Border Force officials are among those striking in December.
Passport checks at various UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow, Cardiff and Birmingham, will be disrupted by walkouts from December 23 to December 26 and from December 28 to December 31.
The military and civil servants are likely to be brought in to cover for Border Force staff, while Armed Forces personnel will also be sent to hospital trusts before ambulance workers strike on December 21.
Workers at 14 rail companies will walk out over two 48-hour periods this week, from Tuesday to Wednesday and from Friday to Saturday.
The RMT, which has already staged several strikes since the summer, plans further action over Christmas and in early January.
Its members on Monday rejected a pay offer from Network Rail, the owner of Britain's railway infrastructure.
Strikes across the UK — in pictures
The RMT said the “substandard” offer was tied to “thousands of job losses” as well as an increase in unsocial hours.
On Tuesday, RMT's general secretary Mick Lynch told the Today programme that the pay rises in the offer, 5 per cent backdated for this year and 4 per cent next year “were to cover three years”.
“The cumulative retail price index over that time is likely to be 22 per cent or 23 per cent, so it's less than half of the cost of living over that period,” he said.
“But many of our members are saying to us we need to sort out these conditions, what the government is calling modernisation.
“We are prepared to work with the company on making some changes they want to do but at the moment we haven't got a complete package. And what the company has done is arbitrarily decided to start imposing those from tomorrow.
“So they have said the discussions are finished and issued us with a compulsory redundancy notice, so they are clearly going to make those changes whether we agree to them or not.”
The government urged the union to call off the strikes.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper claimed the “tide is turning” within unions about strike action, despite the RMT walkout.
He told GB News that a “fair and reasonable offer” had been made to rail workers.
“One of the unions accepted that offer — Unite workers have accepted it, the TSSA have recommended acceptance and we’ll get their ballot results later this week,” said Mr Harper.
“But the RMT have refused to do so and I would call on them to look again at this offer and accept it.
“And it’s interesting in their ballot yesterday, only just over half of their workforce actually rejected it — almost 40 per cent of their workforce, even with a very clear instruction from their union leadership, actually voted in favour of it.
“So, I think the tide is turning on people seeing that the offers we have made are reasonable, taking into account both the travelling public but also the interest of taxpayers.”
Asked about the threat of new laws to restrict strike action, he said: “We've already introduced the legislation recently on minimum service levels in the transport sector.
“And one of the things that the Prime Minister is very keen to do is to widen that legislation to deal with other areas of policy and work is taking place at pace on that and that legislation will be introduced at the earliest possible opportunity.”
A YouGov poll last week found that 51 per cent of the British public opposed the planned rail strikes over Christmas, while 27 per cent supported them.
Asked if there is a glimmer of hope in the negotiations, Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines told BBC Breakfast: “It’s hard to see that today.
“I’ve learned, you know, through a long career, that sometimes the light is just around the corner.
“But where I stand today, I’d have to say that with the level of disruption the RMT are imposing, the way forward isn’t obvious.”
The government on Monday urged unions to call off planned strikes.
Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said on Monday ministers will be “straining every sinew” to minimise strike disruption.
Mr Dowden said: “But we cannot eliminate them.
“The fair and reasonable thing for the unions to do — particularly in a time when winter is biting, we’re suffering from the consequences of Ukraine and indeed the Covid situation — is to call off those strikes and give families a break, particularly over wintertime.
“My message to them, even now, is please call them off.”
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James
Three and a half stars
Keep it fun and engaging
Stuart Ritchie, director of wealth advice at AES International, says children cannot learn something overnight, so it helps to have a fun routine that keeps them engaged and interested.
“I explain to my daughter that the money I draw from an ATM or the money on my bank card doesn’t just magically appear – it’s money I have earned from my job. I show her how this works by giving her little chores around the house so she can earn pocket money,” says Mr Ritchie.
His daughter is allowed to spend half of her pocket money, while the other half goes into a bank account. When this money hits a certain milestone, Mr Ritchie rewards his daughter with a small lump sum.
He also recommends books that teach the importance of money management for children, such as The Squirrel Manifesto by Ric Edelman and Jean Edelman.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
La Mer lowdown
La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Matrix Resurrections
Director: Lana Wachowski
Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jessica Henwick
Rating:****
