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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
National
Danyel VanReenen

Edinburgh rail workers and politicians join picket line outside Waverley Station

An Edinburgh MP stood on the front lines of Waverley Station's picket line on Wednesday alongside 100% of the railway's RMT union workers.

Tommy Sheppard, an SNP MP for Edinburgh East, said he joined picketers to support "an absolutely justified cause."

"Workers have been faced with inflation, and wages need to increase to keep pace with that, but now they've been asked to take a pay-cut which no one can afford during a cost of living crisis. I also support the cause because I believe in a decent railway system," said Sheppard.

Sheppard described the mood as chipper and lively on the picket line, and members of the public expressed a lot of support.

"These workers are not only fighting for their livelihoods, but they're also fighting for a better rail system," said Sheppard.

READ MORE: American tourists in Edinburgh irate after turning up to 'phantom restaurant'

Rail workers across the UK went on strike in a continued dispute with the UK Government over pay, working conditions, and other spending cuts.

ScotRail, Scotland's public sector railway, have clarified that it is not involved in strike action disputes, but services across the network have nonetheless been impacted.

"RMT have announced further national strike action across the Great Britain railway network in a separate dispute with Network Rail and other train operating companies," ScotRail said online.

"This means Network Rail members of the RMT will be striking on 27 July, and 18 and 20 August. While this is a separate dispute, the planned strikes on those three days will cause disruption to ScotRail services, as Network Rail Scotland signallers and maintenance staff, who are in safety-critical roles, will be on strike."

Sheppard urged the UK Transport Secretary to settle the dispute immediately and end the ongoing disruptions throughout the country.

"The conservatives in Westminster are wholly responsible for the problem at hand," Sheppard said.

"Continuing the dispute is incredibly shortsighted, especially in light of the climate emergency when we should be encouraging more people to use cleaner transport such as trains. Obviously no one wants to go on strike, but workers must take action against unreasonable employers."

On Wednesday, train passenger Lindsay said she whole heartedly supports the rail worker strikes despite any personal impact.

"I support them because what they're doing, they're doing for everybody. They are improving the standards for all of us," she said.

An anonymous train passenger also supported the strikers. He said strikers are protecting their livelihoods during a very difficult time.

Although strike action is not planned again until August 18 and 20, ScotRail warned that passengers may see lingering disruptions and delays on Thursday morning due to the reopening of signal boxes at different times across the country.

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