2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes

United Kingdom railway strikes
United Kingdom railway strikes
Part of the 2021–present UK cost-of-living crisis and UK industrial disputes and strikes (2022–present)
Date	21 June 2022 – 27 November 2024
Location	England; Scotland and Wales (until May 2023); Northern Ireland (December 2023 – February 2024)
Goals	Improved pay and working conditions; Opposition to ticket office closures
Resulted in	Improved working conditions; Ticket office closures cancelled; Improved pay deals individually agreed in all regions;
Parties
UK train operating companies; London Underground; Network Rail; Department for Transport;	National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT); Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF); Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA); Unite the Union;
Lead figures
	Prime ministers:; Boris Johnson; Liz Truss; Rishi Sunak; Keir Starmer; Transport secretaries:; Grant Shapps; Anne-Marie Trevelyan; Mark Harper; Louise Haigh; General secretaries: Mick Lynch, RMT; Mick Whelan, ASLEF; Manuel Cortes, TSSA; Sharon Graham, Unite;

The 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes were an industrial dispute between rail workers and companies, with the latter supported by the UK government. The rail workers were represented by several unions including the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF). The railway strikes commenced on 21 June 2022 after workers walked out over wages, threat of redundancies and planned changes to working practices (the removal of guards from trains, ticket office closures, and age changes to rail cards). The industrial action was the largest in the sector since 1989, and involved 40,000 workers nationwide. The dispute lasted for two years and ultimately resulted in victory for the unions, with improved pay deals concluded region by region. The last dispute was resolved in London in November 2024.

The dispute took place amid political interference by Conservative governments which blocked resolutions in England, and passed laws to restrict industrial action. They were unable to block a deal in Scotland and Wales as transport is devolved in those jurisdictions; as a result those disputes were resolved by the RMT in December 2022, and by ASLEF in May 2023. The Conservatives refused to negotiate in England until their defeat at the 2024 general election. Negotiations resumed with the incoming Labour government, and the last disputes outside of London were resolved that September. ASLEF suspended its London strike action in November and declared victory, ending the strikes. A concurrent dispute within Avanti West Coast continued until its resolution in March 2025, but this was not part of the wider regional issue.