Rees: ‘The right to strike is part of a functioning democracy’

Bristol’s mayor says he supports people’s right to strike and will visit those on the picket lines as Britain’s most widespread industrial action in decades continues.

Speaking the day after mass rail strikes caused disruption and halted the majority of services in the region, Marvin Rees acknowledged the inconvenience inflicted on commuters as he said he wished circumstances had not led workers to believe this was their only recourse.

The mayor stated the right to withdraw labour is part of living in a functioning democracy and blamed the government for failing to ensure everyone can afford to live and undervaluing the people who do critical jobs.

Tuesday saw the first day of strike action after talks failed to resolve a bitter dispute over working conditions, redundancies and pensions.

Industrial action is due to continue on Thursday and Saturday if an agreement can’t be reached, with prime minister Boris Johnson apparently unprepared to end the stalemate saying the country needs to “be prepared to stay the course” in the face of disruption that he has described as “unnecessary and wrong”.

Labour leader Keir Starmer warned frontbench MPs not to join picket lines – although some defied his wishes – but Bristol’s mayor has said he will pay those taking part in industrial action a visit.

Commenting during a press briefing on Wednesday, Rees said: “It’d be great to be in a world in which strikes were not needed and didn’t happen because we recognise the inconvenience it causes on people’s lives.

“But, in many ways, that’s the point isn’t it, that people show just how critical their labour is to the everyday functioning of our society. And unfortunately, many of the people that put in those critical functions have been undervalued.”

The mayor said ordinary people are falling behind in the wake of Brexit, the pandemic, the consequences of lockdown and now the cost of living crisis.

He continued: “People have a right to withdraw their labour – that’s what it means to live in a functioning democracy. And there are inconveniences around it but that’s the price you pay for a functioning democracy where workers have got hard-won rights and choose to exercise their rights.

“And we need government to work in a much more constructive way with union leaders to tackle the conditions that lead to people feeling that the only avenue available to them is to withdraw their labour. Everyone pays, people don’t get paid – people will be looking for a deal and the deal is what people need.”

Workers on the picket line outside Temple Meads for the first day of the national rail strike  – photo: Martin Booth

Commenting on the first day of the biggest rail strike since 1989, Mick Lynch, general secretary of RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport workers), said: “RMT members are leading the way for all workers in this country who are sick and tired of having their pay and conditions slashed by a mixture of big business profits and government policy.

“Now is the time to stand up and fight for every single railway worker in this dispute that we will win.”

GWR is advising people to only travel by rail if necessary while strike action continues to halt services and warns those who do go by train to expect severe disruption and plan ahead.

Only 30 per cent of GWR services are operating on strike days – image: GWR

On strike days, an extremely limited service will operate between 7.30am and 6.30pm while on non-strike days, no services will run before 7am.

Services throughout the week are affected by the strike – image: GWR

Main photo: Martin Booth

Read more: The Bristol services set to be crippled by rail strikes 

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