The RMT Union has announced that rail staff will also now walk-out on Christmas Eve in strikes over jobs, pay, and working conditions.
With many planning to travel across the UK over the festive period, the hopes of making to their destination for the big day without a hitch is now under threat as the RMT Union has this week announced that more industrial action is on the way – with thousands of rail staff now set to strike on Christmas Eve too.
This is on top of the already-announced strike dates over the next couple of weeks and in the first few days of the new year.
After yesterday rejecting the most recent revised pay offer, RMT has decided to put a new offer from Network Rail to members in an electronic referendum closing 12 December – with union bosses, once again, urging its members to reject proposals.
This means that all strike action planned for December 13,14, 16 and 17 will go ahead as planned, as well as further strike action from 6pm on Christmas Eve to 6am to 27 December.
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All strike action planned for December 13,14, 16 and 17 will go ahead. Furthermore, further strike action will take place between 18.00 hours on December 24 through to 05.59 hours December 27 2022.https://t.co/kYRjYfjQZo
Speaking as the new strike dates have been announced, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that it was unfortunate that the union had been “compelled to take this action” due to the “continuing intransigence” of the employers, adding: “We remain available for talks in order to resolve these issues but we will not bow to pressure from the employers and the government to the detriment of our members.”
Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s chief negotiator, accused the RMT of “playing fast and loose with people’s Christmas plans”, adding: “This response from the RMT to a significantly enhanced offer exposes their true priority – using the British public and Network Rail workers as pawns in a fight with the government.
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“What use is a referendum that means the strike disruption is inevitable?”.
The RMT Union has announced that rail staff will now also stage strikes on Christmas Eve / Credit: National Rail
Rail Strikes Dates
Here’s everything you need to know.
December 2022
The RMT Union has announced two 48-hour strikes this month, which will affect the network nationally on the following dates:
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Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 December 2022
Friday 16 and Saturday 17 December 2022
This is likely to affect most train companies across the UK.
National Rail says that, although the rail industry is working hard to minimise the effect strike action will have on services, it’s “inevitable” that services will be cancelled or severely disrupted on strike days, and it’s likely that there will be a very limited service on these days, with no trains at all on some routes.
Services are also likely to start later on days following the end of the strike action.
There are also set to be other forms of industrial action taking place on “a much more localised level” on different dates this month, which will only affect one or two train companies – with Avanti West Coast one of the train providers set to see walk-outs.
Friday 2 and Saturday 3 December – action by Unite union, which will affect East Midlands Railway only.
Sunday 11 and Monday 12 December – action by RMT union, which will affect Avanti West Coast only.
Friday 23 and Saturday 24 December – action by Unite union, which will affect East Midlands Railway only.
This is on top of the already-announced strike dates in December and January 2023 / Credit: National Rail
January 2023
As we head into the new year, two more 48-hour strikes affecting the network nationally have been announced on the following dates:
Luxury Manchester gym Blok confirms permanent closure after weeks of uncertainty
Daisy Jackson
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure, weeks after the doors to the premium fitness facility mysteriously closed.
Around a fortnight ago, members began to arrive to their classes to find the gym on Ducie Street locked up and a forfeiture notice on the door – but at the time, Blok said that it was fighting to reopen.
Sadly, in an email sent to members today, its founder has confirmed that the studio is now permanently closed.
Blok – which has several very successful sites down in London – said that its relationship with its landlord has ‘broken down to a point where trust has been lost’.
The gym wrote that it’s been left with ‘no workable way forward’.
They said: “BLOK Manchester was a space built by our loyal and dedicated community. Whether you joined us for one class or one hundred, we are deeply grateful. You helped create something genuinely special in an incredible city.”
In the immediate future, they said they’ll be supporting the team of fantastic trainers who worked here, as well as looking after members.
Members will be contacted within a few hours with options and refunds owed.
Blok Manchester has announced its permanent closure. Credit: The Manc Group
CEO and founder Ed Stanbury said: “While this marks the end of a chapter, we don’t see it as the end of our story in Manchester. We’re already speaking with developers about potential future sites and remain committed to returning to the city when the time is right.
“Thank you for being part of our story so far. Let’s shape the future of wellness. The mission continues.”
Commenting on Blok’s Instagram post – its first in almost a fortnight – people have been sharing their sadness at the closure of its Manchester site.
One person wrote: “beautiful space, beautiful staff and beautiful community.”
Another said: “Sending love to all the instructors !! :(((( gutted”
Someone else commented: “THE BEST CLASSES. I’m gutted.”
‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Emily Sergeant -
6th December 2022 
