Reportage

Faced with the strike of train drivers, the British are losing patience

British strikers outside King's Cross station in London last June.

AP - Matt Dunham

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Is a winter of discontent coming to the UK?

Strikes in shambles have been taking place since the summer, in a country unaccustomed to mobilizations for a long time.

Train drivers, for example, have been venting their anger for five months, creating disruption.

They are asking for a raise to deal with galloping inflation.

Eleven transport companies are on strike this Saturday, November 26.

Some Britons don't understand anymore.

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With our correspondent in London,

A crowd invades the platform of King's Cross station.

A train has just arrived.

Passengers join the crowded streets of the capital.

Marc leaves smiling, but it's only a facade.

The train I was supposed to take was cancelled, the one after that too, so I jumped on the first one that came along.

I'll be honest, these strikers are lazy.

I am a truck driver, we are not given more money.

I deliver food, medical equipment.

All they have to do is drive a train and take people.

Daniel took the same train.

He lives an hour from central London.

It's been going on too long, he says, the repeated strikes force him to change his habits.

Sometimes I run to work or I stay at home.

It's quite frustrating, and I think it's getting ridiculous.

Especially in this busy time around Christmas.

The main union of train drivers regrets that the discussions are not progressing.

Eight new days of protest between December and January have been announced.

According to the spokesman for the Ministry of Transport, this strike has lasted too long, it is a source of disarray in people's lives and is seriously damaging the economy.

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► Also to listen to United Kingdom: multiplication of strikes in the face of constantly rising inflation

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