Rail workers may strike across the UK

Rail workers across the entire national network are preparing to strike over increases to employee pension contributions.

Submitted by libcom on April 19, 2006

If the strike goes ahead it will be the first national shutdown of the rail network since 1926, involving tens of thousands of workers in every train operator, network rail and maintenance companies.

RMT, TSSA, Aslef and the CSEU, the four unions involved in the dispute, will ballot members for co-ordinated strike action unless employers guarantee before April 28th not to increase pension contributions.

The pension fund currently pools contributions from 100 different companies created after the privatisation of network, but faces a shortfall of up to £600m due to falls in investment returns.

This rail dispute comes shortly after the recent local government strikes over pensions in which over a million workers were involved.

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