RMT Union boss says notice of redundancies issued during rail strike talks
BBC News
Rail strikes have been taking place across the country as members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) have walked out over job cuts, pay and working conditions.
It is the biggest strike in 30 years with the action happening on 21, 23, and 25 June 2022 and has caused travel disruption for millions of people as only a fifth of trains ran on Tuesday (21).
This has meant trade unions and their role in all of this has been a topic of discussion - but what exactly have trade unions done to improve working conditions over the centuries?
Here is a round up of some of the things they have helped to achieve.
Spending our Saturdays and Sundays off work to relax after a hard-working week is a staple in modern society, however, this wasn't always the case.
Due to the industrial revolution in the late 18th and 19th centuries, factories would remain open for six days per week, with Sunday as the day of rest.
Everyone enjoys their weekends off, but it wasn't always a thing...iStockphoto by Getty Images
Workers at this time also participated in Saint Monday, which wasn't a religious holiday but a practice of staying off work on Mondays.
But trade unions wanted there to be a more formal break and so pushed for the Monday-Friday work schedule and two-day weekend we're all used to as it argued it would make the workforce more productive.
At first, they managed...
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