вЂњIt is a self-defeating approach which will do lasting damage to not just the railways but to rail workers,вЂќ they said. The prime ministerвЂ™s spokesperson also said strikes would drive people away from using the railways when passenger numbers were already down on pre-pandemic levels. In the Commons, Boris Johnson described the strikes as вЂњreckless and wantonвЂќ. The RMT said it would be open to вЂњmeaningful proposalsвЂќ that would guarantee no compulsory redundancies and address pay. вЂњThe way that you create good public services is not to attack the people who run those services, is not to attack those people who work day in, day out in order to try and keep them going вЂ“ the way you do it is to support them.вЂќДЄ spokesperson for Nandy declined to clarify whether she supported or opposed strike action. She added: вЂњIвЂ™ve stood with our rail workers just like I stood with junior doctors when they protested against the treatment that was being meted out to them by the government, and our nurses as well. вЂњTheyвЂ™re the people that we went out and applauded during the pandemic because they kept our services going and theyвЂ™ve seen their pay in real terms attacked again and again over the last decade.вЂќ вЂњTheyвЂ™re dealing with the same pressures that everyone else is вЂ“ the cost of food, the cost of soaring inflation rates, taxes going up, and theyвЂ™re really struggling to make ends meet. WeвЂ™re also on the rail workersвЂ™ side and I was speaking to some rail workers on Monday just before I got on the train to come down to London. Speaking on ITVвЂ™s Good Morning Britain, Nandy said: вЂњWe want to avoid the strikes and weвЂ™re on the publicвЂ™s side on this. The government has called the strikes вЂњself-defeatingвЂќ, saying they could drive more passengers away in the long term. The strikes, which will include most of its signalling staff as well as the onboard and station staff of 13 train companies, are expected to leave fewer than one in five services running, probably only between 7am and 7pm on mainlines. Network Rail is drawing up contingency plans to enable some mainline services to run. Rail workers belonging to the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will stage walkouts on 21, 23 and 25 June, with the effects also likely to disrupt many services on days when workers are not on strike. Commentators have noted that members of the Labour frontbench have been conspicuously quiet on the issue, while the party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has said he supports the general right of workers to withdraw their labour, but believed the rail strikes should not go ahead.

Parallel sides