Strikes – time to resolve the disputes

Via our local MP, Harborough Rail Users have called upon the Government to act to bring an end to the current plague of strikes on the railways.  The various disputes have been going on for months and, apart from an apparent glimmer of hope in early November, and a couple of specific settlements, they show no sign of ending anytime soon.  There are no winners, and the disruption causes serious difficulty to the public – who have no say in any of this.  It is time to sort this mess out!
Harborough Rail Users therefore sent the following open letter to Harborough MP Neil O’Brien on 11th December 2022:
Dear Mr O’Brien,
We are concerned about the train service currently being provided at Market Harborough.
In addition to the national disputes involving the RMT, ASLEF and TSSA unions, East Midlands Railway are involved in disputes with the Unite union.
This means that services through Harborough are being disrupted on additional days to the national strikes.
It is making the service unacceptable both to regular and occasional users.
The Government keeps stressing how much money was poured into the railways to allow key workers to get to work during the pandemic.
What are those key workers - and others - supposed to do now?
We have heard the views of the Government, the Rail Delivery Group and the trade unions over and over again.
They do not need repeating.
This issue is affecting thousands of your constituents.
It is now time to get back to the negotiating table and make a settlement.
Yours sincerely,
Harborough Rail Users
 
We sent this also to the local press, with some additional comments, and it was the front-page lead in the Harborough Mail on 22nd December. 
It is important to stress that Harborough Rail Users are politically neutral and impartial.  We are not taking sides, nor are we apportioning blame.  We also recognise that EMR have made considerable efforts to provide a train service at Market Harborough, whereas many places have had no trains at all on strike days.
Of course, the railways are by no means the only sector currently affected by strikes.  However, it is time to sort this mess out!

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All locked up and nowhere to go.  The gates at the top of the ramp between the booking office and Platform 1 at Market Harborough are padlocked shut on 26th November, when a strike by drivers’ union ASLEF meant no service trains at all.  On other strike days, EMR have provided some level of service, albeit with later starts and earlier finishes to the operating day.
Photo: Steve Jones