In an earlier blog I called the rail strikes the craziest strikes in history, drawing attention to the fact that, of course, the rail employees received no pay when not at work, but the rail companies lost no revenue at all.

The companies were being fully compensated by the government for loss of income due to strike action.

The government was refusing to allow negotiation with the unions over pay and working conditions and were paying rail companies to prolong the strikes.
The government was determined to allow no break-through pay rise and, by means of attrition, hoped to weaken the rail unions in the process.

And so the strike action continued and, much to the government’s annoyance, the unions have enjoyed public sympathy, especially when wholesale closure of station ticket offices was thrown into the mix, eliciting an angry response from the travelling public.

Since the strikes began, 18 months ago, the travelling public has faced the inconvenience of disrupted services and has forked out £1billion in compensation to the rail companies for lost fares income.

There can be no description for this diversion of tax-payers’ money than corruption on a grand scale.

We did not pay our taxes so that the government could bribe  –  yes bribe  – the rail companies to prolong the strikes. We pay our taxes so that public services can be provided, not so that the government can connive with the rail companies in pursuit of its political ends.

And what has the Labour Opposition got to say about this blatant corruption?

NOTHING.

Starmer is not asleep on the job. He has no more interest than the Tories in seeing strong trade unions successfully defending their members’ wages, jobs and working conditions.