Labour MPs back Greedy Union Strikers causing misery across UK

Around 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators have walked out in a bitter dispute over their demands for more pay.

Commuters across the country are facing chaos and misery during the biggest rail strike in a generation

Criminal barristers have become the latest group to vote for strike action. The Criminal Bar Association, which represents lawyers prosecuting and defending those accused of crimes in England and Wales, said members had backed a plan for 14 days of action between 27 June and 22 July.

They join rail staff, teachers and civil servants in backing or considering industrial action over the coming months at a time when the UK economy is in serious trouble.

 

A growing number of Labour Party MPS have publicly backed the strikers and have attended picket lines.

 

LABOUR PARTY MPs IN BED WITH UNIONS

 

Labour's response to the strikes has once again thrown Labour's links and support for the union barons into the spotlight.

Unions are the biggest donors to the party.

In Parliament, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps named and shamed Labour MPs he said had received money from the RMT including former shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and York Central MP Rachael Maskell, whose constituency party received £3,000 from the militant union.

Over the last decade, the RMT has given Labour more than £1million including £239,325 to the Central Labour Party.

Among those to receive donations from the RMT was Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner who received £185,657 between November 2014 and February 2020 – unions include RMT, Unite, GMB, CWU and Unison.

The following is a list of every sitting Labour MP who has received donations from the RMT:

WHAT THE STRIKERS EARN

Grant Schapps, Secretary of State for Transport of the United Kingdom, came under fire by greedy Unions for revealing the current salary of the average striker is also above the national average: “The average train driver earns £59,000, the average rail worker earns £44,000, the average nurse, £31,000.”

The average signaller earns £44,000, according to Network Rail. The average pay for a maintenance worker is £31,000, and the overall average for Network Rail RMT members is £36,000.

Middle managers at individual train companies in roles such as planning and procurement can typically earn anything from £55,000-£95,000, with directors on £100,000-£200,000.

Almost half of Network Rail staff earn more than £40,000, with more than a thousand employees earning £80,000-£120,000.

The average salary is £59,000 across the national rail operators. Drivers are on different pay scales at different companies, but the regional variations on the mainland range from £51,000 in Wales to £71,000 for drivers on LNER’s East Coast trains. Most do some overtime, with Sunday shifts usually voluntary.

Drivers on the French SNCF-owned Eurostar earn more, at £77,000 a year.

Network Rail’s chief executive, Andrew Haines, earns £588,000.

The chief financial officer, Jeremy Westlake, is the second highest earner at £415,000.

Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s chief negotiator in the current talks, along with five other route managing directors, earns £335,000.

The salary of Steve Montgomery, representing train operators as the chair of the Rail Delivery Group, and director of UK rail for FirstGroup, the biggest rail operator, is undisclosed, but six train company bosses report to him, making his likely earnings somewhere between £300,000-£400,000.

Strikers are demanding a 7% pay rise.

A group of union leaders threatening to spark a summer of discontent in Britain are raking in six-figure pay deals - some four-times higher than the workers they are leading to the picket line.

Analysis shows how union chiefs are taking home staggering salaries, topped up with bumper benefit packages - including in some cases travel costs, personal cars and sizeable pension contributions.

Despite preaching 'solidarity' with working class people, some are earning upwards of £100,000-a-year - more than double the salary for an average UK worker.

Manuel Cortes (TSSA) - Remuneration package: £121,773

Mick Lynch (RMT)  - Remuneration package: £124,000

Kevin Courtney and Mary Bousted (NEU) - Collective remuneration package: £266,830

Dr Patrick Roach (NASWUT) - Remuneration package: £185,111

Dr Chaand Nagpaul (BMA) - Remuneration package: £203,633

Dave Ward (CWU) - Remuneration package: £143,000

Gary Smith (GMB) - Remuneration package: Not publicly available yet as he only took over last year. Believed to be six figures. His predecessor Tim Roache received a bumper £288,000 package in his final year but before that the figure was around £110,000.

FREE 'I WANT MY COUNTRY BACK' LAPEL BADGE

Stay connected! If you want to be notified of our latest videos, livestreams and more, why not consider subscribing to our Purged.tv channel!