Railway strike expected in the UK

A two-day long railway strike is expected to cause havoc for travelers in the

United Kingdom, according to the BBC. The strike will affect routes served by First Great Western trains and the walk-out is expected to start on January 20^th 2008, lasting for 48 hours. The Rail Maritime and Transport Union is initiating the strike, after labour representatives were unable to reach a consensus with the executives of the First Great Western. The main sticking points are concerns that managers have been permitted to drive trains. Railway officials did, indeed, confirm that this has occurred, but noted that it only happened on a few occasions, when the company was short-staffed on a busy Sunday and needed extra drivers and guards. Bob Crow, the union’s general secretary, however, has labeled actions taken by management as “confrontational” and noted that in order to avert a strike, the company would have to stop using managers to crew trains, which the labour leader believes occurs on a “routine” basis.

The railway company, for its part, noted that it would like to keep negotiating with the union, in order to avert a strike. This, however, seems increasingly unlikely. The railway company operates trains on a number of key domestic routes in the UK, connecting Paddington station in London to destinations in Wales, the southwestern regions of

England, as well as the West Country.

The First Great Western has faced other criticism, not only from labour leaders, but from consumers as well, who have had to adjust to fare hikes of about 6% in recent months.

www.firstgreatwestern.co.uk