Stroud MP Siobhan Baillie on rail strikes | Gazette Series

There were rail strikes again last week and I have been surprised how little people are reacting to having disrupted travel. 

The unions have targeted strikes at much loved events like the cup final, Elton John and Beyonce gigs this week to cause as much misery as possible.  They know many people save up for months to attend these things. Yet while some Stroud people are seriously inconvenienced by strikes, I do not get a lot of correspondence on this issue.

People have been making other arrangements to work around the trains – which is bad for the railways in the long run.

The deal needs to be done between the unions and rail companies. The Transport Secretary Mark Harper has been clear the Government is trying to end the disputes.  It has met with union leaders, listened to requests and facilitated fair and reasonable offers. 

RMT members working for Network Rail voted overwhelmingly to accept a deal where the government was involved and they are no longer striking. 

It is believed that the leadership of the RMT union and ASLEF union are blocking a similar offer being put to members working for train operating companies.

ASLEF has been made an offer which would take drivers’ average salary up to £65,000!  I suspect it is the desire of the operators to modernise working practices to cut costs that bothers the unions the most. Any pay deal is linked to a change to old expensive practices – some of them dating back to the days of British Rail.

The railways are in a pickle. Passenger numbers have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels as many people work from home more now. Unless there is reform the rail network will continue to struggle and us – the taxpayer – will have to pay £2 billion a year to meet the shortfall.  I am worried about the railway workers too. If they have been striking, they have lost about £1800 in earnings so far. 

I want the railways to be in a positive place where local people can rely on them. 

I have a few long standing campaigns that rely on passenger numbers holding up or increasing, including reopening Stonehouse Bristol Road station, getting step free access at Stroud station and more recently, I have been asked to look at campaigning to increase the frequency of trains at Cam and Dursley. 

No government will be able to put funds into new schemes if the railways continue to be paralysed by industrial action.

The fact is the working population has much more flexibility than in other times and this means strike action is operating within the law of diminishing returns for the RMT and Aslef.

When strike action becomes a fact of life, a minor irritation or overtly political, it loses its impact and I think that is what is happening now. 

I genuinely hope the unions will reach deals as I know so most railway workers care deeply about their passengers.