New UK train strike dates announced as unions target Christmas and World Cup celebrations

BRITAIN faces a bleak festive season after 40,000 rail workers announced they will strike just one week before Christmas.

Members of the RMT union will abandon railways across the nation on December 13, 14, 16 and 17 – the final week of the World Cup.

And MORE industrial action will kickstart the new year, with walkouts planned for January 3, 4, 6 and 7.

The RMT has been locked in a major dispute with rail operators over pay, job security and working conditions.

For months negotiators on both sides have tried and failed to reach an agreement.

Union chief Mick Lynch said: “We have been reasonable, but it is impossible to find a negotiated settlement when the dead hand of government is presiding over these talks.

“In the meantime, our message to the public is we are sorry to inconvenience you, but we urge you to direct your anger and frustration at the government and railway employers during this latest phase of action.”

Steve Montgomery, Chairman of industry body the Rail Delivery Group, said: “It would be tragic if more train strikes wreck the first real festive season that millions of families have enjoyed since 2019.

“For two years they sacrificed the usual fun and festivities for the good of their loved ones and the country. Strikes will also take even more money out of the pockets of railway staff and devastate the pubs, restaurants and shops who depend on this time of year to make a profit.

“Strikes put the jobs of their staff at risk. We owe it to them to stay round the table.”

Away from the railways, swathes of other public services face breaking down as Britain descends into a winter of discontent.

Earlier this month the 106-year-old Royal College of Nursing voted to hold its first ever UK-wide strike.

Hospitals across the nation face mass staff shortages as union leaders demand a 17 per cent pay rise for its hardworking members.

Around 100,000 civil servants are also due to walk out of work during the festive season.

Workers in the Border Force and Passport Office are among those demanding a 10 per cent pay rise from their government employers.

This morning Rishi Sunak told a meeting of the Cabinet that Brits face a “challenging period” caused by the aftermath of the pandemic, Mad Vlad Putin’s war in Ukraine, NHS backlogs and now MORE strike action.

The words of warning came after the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) today said the UK economy will suffer the biggest blow to its economy of all the world’s seven most developed nations.

And of the top 20 only Russia will fare worse.

The group predicted the UK economy will grow by 4.4 per cent this year, before plummeting by 0.4 per cent in 2023.

Just last week the government’s budget watchdog revealed disposable household income per person is expected to fall more than seven per cent over the next two years.

The drop will drag income down to 2013 levels.