the times | Monday June 13 2022 2GM 7News
Union leaders have reacted angrily to
government threats that agency
workers could be brought in to cover for
striking staff on the railways.
The proposals emerged yesterday in
response to rail strikes planned for next
week. More than 40,000 members of
the RMT union are to walk out on three
dates, beginning on June 21, in a dispute
over pay, job security and pensions.
Grant Shapps, the transport secre-
tary, said laws banning employers from
hiring agency workers to cover for
striking staff could be changed under
plans to break unions’ ability to shut
down national infrastructure.
Paul Nowak, deputy general secretary
of the TUC, said the government was
“desperate to distract from its numerous
failings” by picking fights with unions.
“Allowing agency staff to replace
striking workers would undermine the
right to strike and be extremely reck-
less,” he said. “Bringing in less qualified
and experienced staff to deliver impor-
tant services would create genuine
safety risks for the public and for the
workforce.
“Using agency workers to try and
break strikes would put these workers
in an appalling situation, worsen dis-
putes and poison industrial relations.”
His comments were echoed by Mick
Lynch, general secretary of the RMT,
who accused Shapps of “smearing” his
union. He said the transport secretary
needed to “unshackle the rail operating
companies so they can come to a nego-
tiated settlement that can end this dis-
pute”. Lynch added: “Railway workers
voted overwhelmingly for strike action
in defence of their jobs and for a pay rise
that deals with the rising cost of living.
“It is insulting to them to suggest they
do not understand the issues that affect
their daily lives or cannot make a
democratic decision by themselves.
“We already have the most restrictive
anti-democratic trade union laws in
western Europe and if the government
attempts to reduce our rights further,
the RMT, along with the rest of the
trade union movement, will mount the
fiercest resistance possible.”
Writing in The Sun on Sunday, Shapps
said workers could be banned from
working overtime to make back pay lost
during industrial action.
He admitted to The Sunday Telegraph
that any legal changes would not affect
“this particular set of strikes” next week
but said “further measures certainly
would come in during this particular
dispute, if it can’t be resolved”.
Officials in the Department for Busi-
ness, Energy and Industrial Strategy
are understood to have been given the
task of planning the legal changes.
Brandon Lewis, the Northern
Ireland secretary, told BBC1’s Sunday
Morning that the transport secretary
“wants to have a look at everything that
we can possibly do to support the rail
industry and support people who want
to use the railways to be able to function
and to get to work.
“We’ve got a situation at the moment
where, I think, the median salary in therailway sector is about £46,000 a year
already, let alone what they’re asking
for as an increase, against an average
wage in this country of closer to
£26,000. So, it’s a very well-rewarded
sector anyway.”
Union leaders have warned of a
“summer of discontent” with members
in a growing number of industries,
including check-in staff at airports,
telecoms workers and refuse collectors
all threatening walkouts.
Members of the RMT union, includ-
ing workers at Network Rail, will stage
24-hour strikes on June 21, 23 and 25.
Each strike will start at midnight and
last 24 hours but disruption will affect
the following days because staff will not
have begun night shifts and trains will
be out of position.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former
Tory leader, said the “damage” strikes
could cause to industry by disrupting
people’s means of getting to work
should be taken into consideration,
possibly with an option for prosecution.
He told BBC Radio 4’s The World This
Weekend: “The damages to the
industries that are reliant on the work
that takes place needs also to be taken
into consideration, whether that allows
prosecution to take place or there to be
further action.”Gatwick airport is hit by a “meltdown
every night” because of staff shortages
in the air traffic control tower.
There is growing frustration among
airlines that the UK’s second biggest
airport does not have enough resources
to handle the surge in the number of
flights this summer.
“Since the start of the summer we’ve
seen repeated issues in terms of air traf-
fic control restrictions coming into
Gatwick,” a senior aviation source said.
“The airport is putting restrictions on
movements per hour, below its de-
clared capacity, because of a shortage of
air traffic controllers in the approach
control function.”
The source said that in a typical hour
Gatwick, which is the world’s busiest
single-runway airport, can handle 54
movements, of which 34 can be arrivals.
Last week arrivals were reduced to 22
an hour at some points because of flow
restrictions.
“The days tend to start reasonably
well,” the source said. “But as each flight
does a rotation the accumulated delaysGatwick suffers nightly ‘meltdown’
Ben Clatworthy are getting worse and worse. By the end
of the day it can be the case that airlines
are forced to cancel the last flight of the
day, either because the crew have gone
out of working hours or because its ar-
rival airport will be closed by the time it
comes to landing.”
In a further sign of the problems fac-
ing the aviation industry, data showed
that across Europe flight delays had
reached almost 100,000 minutes in the
week to June 4. Almost half were
caused by “capacity and staffing” issues
at European airports.
Data by Eurocontrol, which manages
European airspace, reported that air
traffic flow management delays
(ATFM), such as air traffic, weather or
capacity issues, have soared in recent
weeks.
As the prospect of a summer of dis-
ruption loomed, there were long
queues at Manchester airport yester-
day morning as well as long queues for
passport control at Stansted.
A source at Gatwick said that such
delays in European countries had had
an impact on its operations. In the week
to June 8, 45 per cent of ATFM delaysoriginated in Germany, followed by 26
per cent in France and 9 per cent in the
UK. Paris Charles de Gaulle is among
the leading airports to have been badly
disrupted.
Airline insiders said that easyJet was
the worst affected airline at Gatwick,
citing the fact the evening flight from
London to the Isle of Man was
cancelled three times last week on the
busiest week for the service while the
TT races were taking place on the
island.
Critics blame Air Navigation Solu-
tions, the German-owned air traffic
control company, which took over the
handling of operations from Nats, the
main air navigation service provider in
the UK, in 2016 for the problems.
A spokesman for Gatwick rejected
the claims and said that cancellations in
recent weeks had been caused by a host
of issues.
He said: “Sickness among air traffic
control staff in the airport’s control
tower has been an issue on just a couple
of evenings recently but these have not
been the cause of any delays outside of
these isolated incidents.”by watchdog over surging prices
Unions attack bid
to break strike
with agency staff
Ben ClatworthyNews
The shadow chancellor has
refused to back next week’s
walkout by rail staff and accused
the government of “fanning the
flames” of the dispute.
Rachel Reeves said she did not
“want to see strikes” and called on
the government to work with the
industry instead of “sowing chaos,
sowing division”. She refused to
say whether she personally would
have backed strike action after her
colleague Wes Streeting, the
shadow health secretary, said that
he would do if his job were at risk.
“I am not a train driver — I
want to be chancellor,” she told
Sky News. “If I was, I would be
doing everything within my power
to avert these strikes. That’s what
people want, a government that is
on the side of ordinary working
people trying to resolve problems.”
Her comments reflect the
difficult political situation the
opposition finds itself in. Sir Keir
Starmer’s party is anxious not to
be seen to distance itself from
workers facing pay rises well below
inflation but also avoid being on
the wrong side of public opinion.
Gary Smith, general secretary of
the GMB union, said: “I want to
see a bold stance taken by Labour.”
Voters may like Starmer just the
way he is, Trevor Phillips, page 26Dispute splits
Labour team
Oliver Wright Policy EditorOn the rails
The government is also braced for
40,000 members of the RMT union
holding 24-hour strikes on June 21,
23 and 25 in a dispute over pay and
proposed job losses. Each strike will
start at midnight and last 24 hours.
Disruption is expected for six days.In the air
Ministers have rejected the aviation
industry’s calls to change visa rules
to make it easier to fill ground and
air staff jobs. EasyJet, BA and Tui
continue to cancel flights and people
face big queues at airports including
Manchester, Gatwick and Bristol.