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Badenoch blames Labour for new rail strikes to May
The Independent|December 19, 2024
Kemi Badenoch has claimed train commuters will suffer” for Labour’s inflation-busting pay rises for unions. The Tory leader’s comments came after train managers voted to hold a series of strikes, beginning on New Year’s Eve.
- KATE DEVLIN
Badenoch blames Labour for new rail strikes to May

In August, train drivers were offered a hike of 14.25 per cent over three years, raising the average salary to £69,000. But it sparked a backlash when the train drivers’ union Aslef announced fresh strikes just two days later.

Now the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, led by Mick Lynch, has announced action on West Coast Main Line trains on 31 December, 2 January and every Sunday between 12 January and 25 May 2025. The strikes come after workers rejected a deal designed to resolve a dispute over “rest day” working.

A spokesperson for Ms Badenoch said: “It speaks volumes about the Labour Party policy of offering enormous pay rises to their trade union paymasters and getting nothing in return, and it’s commuters who are going to suffer.”

This story is from the December 19, 2024 edition of The Independent.

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Badenoch blames Labour for new rail strikes to May
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This story is from the December 19, 2024 edition of The Independent.

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