Constituents have written to me about the train strikes, and clearly at this time of year the strike timetable is going to cause distress to many people.
This serves to illustrate how important a railway worker’s job is. During the Pandemic the government called them key workers: they keep our country running, just as nurses and teachers do. Yet none of them are seen by the government as valuable enough to negotiate successfully with. Among their demands is that of safety, which also sits at the core of the nurse’s demands. None of us want to travel on an unsafe railway, or be treated on an understaffed (and therein unsafe) ward.
These people are among our unsung heroes, and despite the season, we can’t afford to lose sight of this. I also believe that strike action is voted for out of desperation.
It was clear to me that once the railways were privatised, we were going to see the rail companies care for little else than making a profit, at the expense of both workers and passengers.
I have always advocated that the railways, as a natural monopoly, should be re-nationalised, and I’ve maintained this ever since they were privatised, and there is a great deal of public support for this move.
