The leader of the Labor Party has urged MPs to distance themselves from the ongoing strikes by transport workers which have wreaked havoc across the country since Tuesday this week. However, Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome joined striking railway workers outside Nottingham station on Thursday and will also speak at their rally on Saturday.
In an email to colleagues earlier this week, Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘We do not want these strikes to continue with the resulting disruption to the public.
“We also need to show leadership and to that end remember that senior MPs, including Parliamentary Private Secretaries [PPSs] shouldn’t be on the picket lines.”
RMT members are on strike in a bitter dispute over jobs, wages and conditions.
When Ms Whittome was elected, she pledged to share her MP salary with local causes in Nottingham.
READ MORE: Commuters in misery as they’re stuck in ‘nightmare’ strike chaos
She has previously donated to local branches of other unions – the IWGB couriers and the App Driver and Couriers Union – as well as a range of charities, nonprofits and grassroots groups.
She brings home £35,000 a year after tax, donating the rest.
Commenting on her donation to the RMT, Ms Whittome said: “Rail strikers are leading the way for workers in the cost of living crisis – demanding a living wage and conditions to meet the cost of soaring inflation.
“It’s workers like them who need a pay rise, not MPs. That’s why I’m donating £2,000 of my salary to my local RMT branch’s strike fund.
“When workers go on strike, they don’t get paid, so this money will help ensure that no one faces hardship for standing up for themselves at work.”
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Source: www.express.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-06-25 20:00:00
