During a heated television interview today, union firebrand Mick Lynch mocked Sky News’ Kay Burley for questioning him about his crippling rail strikes.
As the journalist compared the biggest walkouts in a generation to the 1980s miners strikes, the RMT boss laughed and said Miss Burley’s ‘questions are verging on the nonsense.’
When asked what he would do if agency workers hired to fill positions left vacant by strikers crossed picket lines, Lynch chuckled then spat: ‘Well, we’ll picket them, what do you think we’ll do?’ We’ll ask them not to come to work because we’re on strike. ‘Are you unfamiliar with how a picket line operates?’
Lynch has put Britain on ‘another lockdown’ by bringing Britain’s rail line to a juddering halt today, the first day of a week-long disruption that will affect millions of commuters, patients, and students taking GCSEs and A-levels.
‘I’m much older than I look, Mr Lynch,’ Burley, 61, interjected. ‘I know how a picket line works.’ What is the purpose of picketing?’
‘You can see what picketing entails,’ Mr Lynch said, smiling, to striking workers lined up against a deserted Euston Station behind him. This line of questioning has me completely baffled.
‘Picketing is when people stand outside a workplace to try to persuade people not to go to work.’ ‘Do you think there’s anything else to it?’
‘I just wondered what else it might entail because… I remember the picket lines of the 1980s very well,’ Burley continued.
‘Where are you going,’ Mr Lynch interjected. What exactly are the picket lines you’re referring to?
‘Mr Lynch, I’m enquiring about the miners’ strikes,’ Burley responded.
‘Well, looks like the miners’ strike,’ Mr Lynch mocked. What exactly are you discussing?
‘You seem to have wandered off into a parallel universe.’
‘I’m sorry you feel the need to ridicule me,’ Burley continued, ‘I’m just asking you what you expect your members to do if agency workers…’
Mr Lynch interjected again, saying, ‘Your questions are bordering on nonsense.’ We set up a picket as efficiently as possible.’
Burley enquired, ‘And what does that entail?’
‘Well, look – there it is,’ Mr Lynch mocked as he turned back to the protesting picket line behind him. That is what it entails.’
‘You won’t stop agency workers from crossing the picket line?’ Burley inquired.
‘We’ll try to keep agency workers from crossing the picket line by asking them not to come to work – what do you propose we do?’ Mr Lynch was the one who responded.
‘I’m asking you and trying to clarify for the benefit of the British people who are being prevented from traveling across the country, Mr Lynch,’ Burley said. I’ve asked in a courteous manner. Thank you for declining to respond to the question.’
‘What exactly are you attempting to clarify?’ ‘I’m politely responding to you,’ Mr Lynch said. ‘I think I’ve answered the question six times.’
‘OK, but not to my satisfaction,’ Burley concluded. This morning, Mr Lynch, I’m asking questions on behalf of my viewers. If it offends you, please accept my sincere apologies.’
Following the tense exchange, the presenter tweeted a short clip with the caption: ‘Agency rail workers will be stopped at picket lines and asked not to cross.’ Mick Lynch, the General Secretary of the RMT union, was a little flustered when explaining why…’
It comes as the websites of Transport for London and Network Rail crashed this morning due to heavy traffic as people desperately tried to find a way to get to work or school.
The rail industry will also lose £150 million at a time when passenger numbers have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. The taxpayer has also put £16 billion into the network to keep it running during the pandemic.
The walkouts will obstruct millions of people trying to get to work, prevent patients from attending important medical appointments, and put undue stress on students taking exams.
Train passengers, Boris Johnson warned, must ‘stay the course’ in the face of ‘unnecessary aggravation’ caused by rail strikes.
Reforms are critical for the rail industry and those who work in it, Prime Minister David Cameron said at a Cabinet meeting.
Only a fifth of trains are running on Tuesday, and half of the lines are closed, causing millions of people to be stranded.
The majority of services are limited to main lines, and even those are only available between 7.30 a.m. and 6.30 p.m.
In a bitter dispute over pay, jobs, and conditions, around 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime, and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators have walked out.
‘I say this to the country as a whole, we need to get ready to stay the course,’ Mr Johnson said.
‘To stay the course, because these reforms, these improvements in the way we run our railways are in the best interests of the traveling public, and they will help farepayers across the country save money.’