MANCHESTER, England — “They say low pay. We say no way!” chanted rail workers outside the offices of Carlisle Support Services Feb. 21 during two days of strike action here. Earlier in the day more than 70 of them joined picket lines at Manchester’s Piccadilly and Victoria train stations.
The workers are hired by Carlisle to staff ticket gate lines and collect fares for Northern Trains. Unlike workers directly employed by Northern, they earn less and have no sick pay or guaranteed hours, but do the same job.
“This was our first strike,” Israel Akanji, a member of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union, told the Militant. “Our union organizing effort goes back to 2019. We’re considering further strikes to challenge the two-tier conditions.”
Union members voted by 96% to strike. “In the days leading up to the action some 20 more workers joined the union,” RMT Regional Organizer Steve Shaw said. Carlisle refuses to recognize the union.
Workers’ confidence to fight for better conditions grew after a series of strikes by other rail workers. Contract workers at catering company Rail Gourmet — also members of the RMT — won a 21% raise after seven days of strike action last year. Thousands of RMT members who work directly for train-operating companies held 33 days of strikes during a 15-month period in 2022-23.