Planned rail strike in UK

About 40,000 workers from 14 rail companies will strike for 8 days from December 13, 14, 16, 17 and from Christmas Eve to December 27, bringing Britain's rail network to a standstill, The Times of London reported on its website Tuesday.

On 7 December, Maersk issued an emergency notice to customers in the face of a looming rail strike in the UK, warning that "this will cause significant logistical disruption across the UK rail network.Maersk is working closely with rail freight operators on a daily basis to understand the impact of the strike on our inland operations and to promptly inform customers of schedule changes and cancellations to minimize disruption to customers,' the company added in a statement. 'We advise customers to plan ahead to mitigate the impact on inbound cargo flows.

In the UK, inflation has hit 11% and the cost of living has soared, leading to strikes in several industries in recent months, the BBC reported. The RMT union on Thursday rejected a 4% pay rise for transport workers in the 2022 and 2023 financial years proposed by the Rail Delivery Group, Reuters reported. The move follows an announcement by the Transport Staff Association (TSSA) on 2 December that rail workers would stage four 48-hour strike actions: 13-14 December, 16-17 December, 3-4 January and 6-7 January. The general strike has been described as the most disruptive wave of rail strikes in more than 30 years.

It is understood that the rail sector is not the only sector in the UK currently facing strike action, with the Unison, Unite and GMB unions announcing on June 30 that ambulance staff had voted in favour of industrial action, with strikes likely to be called before Christmas.

In response to the strike, government minister Nick Gibb urged the RMT union not to "hold the nation to ransom" by announcing new rail strikes from Christmas Eve. According to The Financial Times, the prime minister has set up a special unit and appointed Cabinet Office minister Olivier Dowden to be responsible for contingency planning for a wave of strikes, predicting future strikes and overseeing the government's response.

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