Network Rail Strike Stopped after High Court Injunction
April 2, 2010
The Network Rail strike that was planned by the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union to start next Tuesday and last for 4 days was called off on Thursday through a High Court injunction. Union general secretary Bob Crow confirmed the ruling and said that they will now re-ballot some 4,600 signalers again on if they still want to strike at a later time.
Charles Bear QC, the lawyer for Network Rail, convinced the High Court to intervene with the injunction by saying that the industrial action would cause a lot of damage to the already stricken economy. He explained that it was needed to prevent unlawful action, which would have the same effect as canceling 80% of Britain’s rail services. Bear continued that this would damage businesses that depend on rail services for transport and freight, adding that it would also damage the claimant itself and train operating companies.
The RMT was strongly opposed to the move and fought against it. However, even Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said that the injunction is a big relief to rail passengers. The union and rail company now need to return to negotiations asap to make amends and find a solution, he added, and calls on them to do just that.
A Network Rail strike would have come at a time when the economy is still attempting to recover from the recession, which hit the travel industry hard. At the same time, other travel companies, especially airlines, have seen their workers strike (most notably British Airways). It only makes sense that many of the passengers who have been disrupted are depending on rail services to commute or travel for breaks. So a rail strike right now would come at a very bad time.
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