Southern rail strikes: Theresa May accuses unions of 'contempt' amid fresh wave of walkouts

Frustration continues: commuters at Victoria station walk past a sign today warning of industrial action
AP

Theresa May accused unions of showing “contempt for ordinary people” as a fresh wave of strikes brought chaos to 300,000 Southern rail passengers and threatened to ruin Christmas for thousands more.

Downing Street accused unions for rail, air and postal workers of creating misery for people trying to get to work, send a parcel or “get home to loved ones at Christmas”.

“The Prime Minister thinks these strikes are wrong and are causing untold misery for hundreds of thousands of people,” said her spokesman.

However, despite calls from Tory MPs, No 10 said Mrs May was not considering anti-strike legislation, saying her focus was on getting existing disputes resolved.

The RMT union claimed it had “solid support” for the 48-hour stoppage, the 25th strike this year on the franchise.

Post Office workers also stopped work in a wave of Christmas industrial action which is set to spread to British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and baggage handlers at several airports.

To crown a week of mayhem, the AA warned that there would be chaos on the roads from Friday when fog will hit 12 million drivers, and huge sections of the rail network will close from Christmas Eve as Network Rail begins 200 sets of engineering works.

A senior London Labour MP warned that unions risked “shooting themselves in the foot”.

Meg Hillier, chair of the powerful Commons public accounts committee, said: “I think all trade unions, even though they are fighting for their rights, need to really think about the impact on the people they are actually there to serve, their customers, or their passengers.” RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Our guards on Southern Rail are taking up the fight for rail safety again today and the union salutes their incredible solidarity and determination.”

He called on Transport Secretary Chris Grayling to force rail operators GTR to fresh talks. Around half the usual number of trains were running today, with more than 1,000 cancelled and no service on some routes. Southern warned of “significant disruption” today and tomorrow.

Chris Philp, the Croydon South MP who is leading calls for laws to ban strikes that are not “proportionate and reasonable”, said: “What we are seeing at Southern, where 300,000 cannot get to work because of a dispute over who pushes a button, is not proportionate or reasonable.”

Postal workers plan five days of strikes over job security and pensions, although a Post Office spokesman said fewer than 300 branches would be hit. Deliveries and collections will not be affected.

Southern guards will walk out from Saturday December 31 to Monday January 2 and 1,000 train drivers will strike from Monday January 9 until Saturday January 14. Other disputes and disruptions include:

Talks to try to avert a strike by British Airways cabin crew on Christmas Day and Boxing Day are taking place at Acas, the conciliation service today.

Southern Rail strike: December 2016

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Around 1,500 check-in staff, baggage handlers and cargo crew working for Swissport are planning strike action on Friday and Christmas Eve, threatening delays at Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted.

Virgin Atlantic faces an overtime ban by some pilots from Friday in a complex row over union recognition.

Network Rail engineering work means there will be no services in or out of Paddington from Christmas Eve until Thursday, December 29. All services will start at Ealing Broadway.

There will be no Southeastern services to London Bridge and Charing Cross from Christmas Eve until Wednesday December 28 and no services into Cannon Street from Christmas Eve until Tuesday December 27.

Dozens of flights from Gatwick were delayed today as fog continued to cause disruption. Heathrow returned to normal after more than 150 flights were grounded at the weekend.

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