Labour’s Lisa Nandy says she’s ‘on the side’ of rail workers set to cripple country with strikes

Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy has said she is “on the side” of rail workers set to cripple the country with strike action.

The senior Labour MP suggested she backed unions threatening to bring large parts of the transport system to a halt in a pay dispute later this month.

Members of the RMT at Network Rail and 13 train operators are preparing to walk out on June 21, 23 and 25 in what has been billed as the largest industrial action by rail staff since 1989.

The strike is pencilled in for three days but the disruption is predicted to last for at least six days.

RMT and Unite members working for TfL and London Underground will hold a walkout on June 21 in a separate row over jobs and pensions, throwing Tube services into chaos.

Union barons have been accused of holding the country to ransom, with RMT leader Mick Lynch warning that more strikes could follow if the row was not resolved.

But Ms Nandy said rail workers were having to deal with cost of living pressures.

Speaking on ITV on Thursday, she said: “We want to avoid the strikes and we’re on the public’s side on this.

“We’re also on the rail workers’ side and I was speaking to some rail workers on Monday just before I got on the train to come down to London.

“They’re dealing with the same pressures that everyone else is - the cost of food, the cost of soaring inflation rates, taxes going up, and they’re really struggling to make ends meet.

“They’re the people that we went out and applauded during the pandemic because they kept our services going and they’ve seen their pay in real terms attacked again and again over the last decade.”

Talks between Network Rail and the union are expected to take place in the following days.

At Ealing Broadway station on Thursday, where Great Western Railway Line services run into central London via Reading, commuters said they were “disgusted” by Ms Nandy’s intervention and expressed their frustration at the new walkout threat.

It comes after commuters saw their travel plans left in tatters earlier this week by a 24-hour strike that saw most Tube stations closed.

Tom Allan, 28, who works in marketing and commutes into west London from Reading, said: “This really takes the biscuit. I think people have had enough, the economy can’t take this and now Labour are supporting the strike, it’s not what people want to hear.

“To be honest I think that it’s disgusting.”

Jerome Dubois, 38, a finance worker said: “The Tube strike earlier in the week was a pain. There is now more pain coming. Everyone is trying to get back to the office after the pandemic and this is not helping. How are hospital workers and front line people supposed to get to work?”

Claire Pilger, 22, a beautician, added: “These strikes are no good for business. We all lost out in the pandemic and want to get back to normal.”

London Minister Paul Scully said the strike action will help no one.

He told the Standard: “It is absolutely vital we keep London open. The pressure is really on people at the moment and we need everyone to be working together.

“This strike action will help no one, particularly the businesses and Londoners still struggling after the pandemic. We never want to see London shutdown again. The unions need to get around the table and sort this out very quickly so we can keep our capital open this summer.”

Ms Nandy’s words were also slammed by London MPs.

Business minister Greg Hands told the Standard: “It is deeply shocking and irresponsible for Keir   Starmer’s senior team to be supporting the rail strikes. Passengers and the public won’t be impressed at all by Labour’s pandering to hard-line Trade Unions like the RMT.”

Cities of London and Westminster MP Nickie Aiken added: “These strikes are going to bring misery and hardship to millions of Londoners. It just shows Labour is still in the pocket of the unions.”

A Labour spokesman said: “We have been clear in the position that the strikes shouldn’t go ahead.

“There is still time for there to be a resolution and we would encourage the Government to play a more active role in working with Network Rail and the unions to ensure they don’t go ahead.”