Rail operators have blamed coronavirus-related staff shortages (Andrew Milligan/PA)
(Picture: PA Archive)It is calculated to be as disruptive as possible. A strike by RMT workers on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, over the use of replacement train conductors and managers.
It is the latest in a string of industrial action in the last few months that have plagued the Tube as Londoners have sought to go about their lives. Indeed, the RMT has just announced further Night Tube strikes over every weekend between the New Year and summer.
For so many living in the capital and around the country, taking a daily lateral flow test in the hope of being able to go home or see loved ones at Christmas, these proposed strikes add up to a devastating blow.
Rail passengers are being told to avoid travelling certain routes on Christmas Eve. Many people, working up until the bank holiday, have no option but to travel at that time. Cancellations mean many may not be able to see their families on Christmas day.
To attempt to wreck the holiday plans of so many people, after a year in which each and every one of us has missed out on seeing friends and family, is not only misguided but cruel. The RMT should call off these strikes.
