Railway workers will continue with a 48-hour strike today (Saturday, Dec 17), creating more difficulties for travellers as their bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions remains deadlocked. Talks between the leader of the RMT Rail, Maritime and Transport union, railway company employers and Huw Merriman, the railways minister on Thursday failed to reach a breakthrough.
The union went ahead with a walkout from Friday on Network Rail and 14 train operators, crippling services across the country once again. Trains will start later than usual on Saturday and will finish earlier, while some parts of the country will have no services at all. The disruption will continue for the rest of the month because of an overtime ban by RMT members at 14 train operators.
To add to the chaos, a 48-hour strike by bus drivers in London, with members of Unite employed by Abellio taking action over pay, also continues today, meaning weekend Christmas shopping and any sporting fixtures may be badly affected.
