Rail workers are going on strike this week over pay and redundancies, with planned stoppages on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday expected to cause disruption throughout the week.
As well as avoiding redundancies across the industry, the RMT says workers' wages should keep up with inflation, which has soared to a record 40-year high of 9 per cent.
If they are unsuccessful, the wages of workers on the railway would be set to fall in real terms.
Many workers across the economy with less bargaining power face this prospect in the coming months, but as rail workers have managed to unionise, they are well-placed to try and keep the value of their wages.
The question of how much railway workers earn is quite complicated, particularly in the context of this strike and those participating. As in any industry, different roles and different levels of seniority earn different salaries.
Recommended Grant Shapps urges rail workers not strike over ‘basic lie’ of pay freezes Government admits it has still had zero meetings with rail unions on eve of strike Rail strikes to go ahead after last ditch talks fail to resolve dispute, RMT says
This week's action does not include drivers, who are represented by the Aslef union.
Drivers are some of the most well-paid workers on the railway and earn more than most of their colleagues, reflecting their senior role.
This fact means that figures quoted by the government in the past about how much rail workers earn are misleading.
Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, claimed in parliament that rail workers earn an average of ￡44,000 a year.
However this figure, which the Office for National Statistics puts more exactly at ￡43,747 includes workers like drivers who are not going on strike.
It also includes people constructing trains, who are not directly employed by network rail or train operating companies but work for companies like Bombardier or Hitachi. This group also bring up the average, earning on average more than ￡44,000.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
1/50UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures 20 June 2022 Handout photo issued by the Big Issue of the Duke of Cambridge selling the Big Issue in London
PA
UK news in pictures 19 June 2022 Visitors explore the Arboria II luminaria, created by Architects of Air, during the Meliora Festival at the Beacon Arts Centre in Inverclyde. Arboria II is inspired by the geometry of nature and also Islamic architecture and features winding passages of small domes with light and colours created purely by daylight shining through the coloured plastic structure
PA
UK news in pictures 18 June 2022 Demonstrators march in a trades union organised protest opposed to British government policies at Parliament Square in London, Britain
Reuters
UK news in pictures 17 June 2022 Crowds on Bournemouth beach during a heatwave
Getty
UK news in pictures 16 June 2022 Paige Dawson, 28, takes a selfie with her baby bump in a huge field of poppies in flower in Bramford, Suffolk
PA
UK news in pictures 15 June 2022 The royal procession arrives into the parade ring ahead of racing on day two of Royal Ascot
PA
UK news in pictures 14 June 2022 Flowers and tributes left outside of Grenfell Tower on the fifth anniversary of the fire that killed 72 people
AP
UK news in pictures 13 June 2022 Protestors demonstrate outside the Home Office building against the governments plans to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda
Reuters
UK news in pictures 12 June 2022 Members of the 2nd Battalion the Scots Guards, march through the streets of Blackpool, Lancashire to mark the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War
PA
UK news in pictures 11 June 2022 Members of the public attend the Royal Windsor Flower Show at the York Club in Windsor Great Park
PA
UK news in pictures 10 June 2022 Pupils with Petty Officer Tommy O'Toole from the Royal Navy with the world's first mobile luge ramp, designed and manufactured by engineering students at Glasgow Caledonian University with the help of pupils from six Renfrewshire primary schools
PA
UK news in pictures 9 June 2022 A traveller rides a horse in the River Eden at the Appleby Horse Fair, the annual gathering of gypsies and travellers in Appleby, Cumbria
PA
UK news in pictures 8 June 2022 An activist from Extinction Rebellion holds a dog wearing a construction helmet as they attend a protest during a biodiversity conference being held at Dublin Castle, calling for legal protection for Ireland’s wildlife
Reuters
UK news in pictures 7 June 2022 Downing Street staff take down Jubilee bunting outside 10 Downing Street in London. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has survived a “vote of no confidence” over his leadership but has lost over forty percent of support from his MP’s following the vote at parliament
EPA
UK news in pictures 6 June 2022 Gannets gathered at Bempton Cliffs in Yorkshire, as over 250,000 seabirds flock to the chalk cliffs to find a mate and raise their young. From April to August the cliffs come alive with nest-building adults and young chicks
PA
UK news in pictures 5 June 2022 Performers take part in the Platinum Jubilee Pageant
Reuters
UK news in pictures 4 June 2022 Past and present jockeys who have ridden Queen Elizabeth II’s horses line up dressed in her colours on Derby Day
Reuters
UK news in pictures 3 June 2022 Prince Harry makes a face as he waits for the start of the National Service of Thanksgiving for The Queen’s reign at Saint Paul’s Cathedral
AFP/ Getty
UK news in pictures 2 June 2022 Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II stands on the Balcony of Buckingham Palace bas the troops march past during the Queen’s Birthday Parade, the Trooping the Colour
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 1 June 2022 Gardeners David Kay and Lou Singfield tend to the wildflower meadow which has burst into flower at King's College in Cambridge
PA
UK news in pictures 31 May 2022 Sir Sean Connery's Aston Martin DB5 which is expected to fetch up to ￡1.4 million at auction. The family of the James Bond actor, who died in October 2020 aged 90, is selling the 1964 classic car to raise money for a philanthropy fund set up in his name
PA
UK news in pictures 30 May 2022 Corgi Charles and friends enjoy a spot of tea during The Jubilee Tea Pawty at award winning doggy day care, Bruce’s
Ben Stevens/PinPep
UK news in pictures 29 May 2022 Nottingham Forest’s Cafu celebrates after winning the Championship Play-Off Final against Huddersfield Town at Wembley
Action Images via Reuters
UK news in pictures 28 May 2022 Balloons light up as they are tethered to the ground during the night glow at the Isle of Wight Balloon Festival at Robin Hill Country Park, Isle of Wight
PA
UK news in pictures 27 May 2022 A crow chases an urban fox, who has dug up a bird carcass, outside the Old Bailey, central London
PA
UK news in pictures 26 May 2022 Pedestrians walk past a 'Living Wall' art project, produced in collaboration with The National Portrait Galler and the Earls Court Development Company, in west London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 25 May 2022 Guests during a Royal Garden Party at Buckingham Palace in London
PA
UK news in pictures 24 May 2022 People walk past the Liverpool Street station sign along the Elizabeth Line on its first day of service as it joins the London Underground network in London, Britain
EPA
UK news in pictures 23 May 2022 A young child amongst group of people thought to be migrants is carried by a member of the military as they are brought in to Dover, Kent
PA
UK news in pictures 22 May 2022 Fernandinho of Manchester City lifts the Premier League trophy after their side finished the season as Premier League champions during the Premier League match between Manchester City and Aston Villa
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 21 May 2022 France's Thibault Laly during day one of the Mercedes-Benz UCI MTB World Cup event in Fort William
PA
UK news in pictures 20 May 2022 Chef Jamie Oliver takes part in the ‘What an Eton Mess’ demonstration outside Downing Street, calling for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to reconsider his U-turn on the Government’s anti-obesity strategy
PA
UK news in pictures 19 May 2022 Sculpture conservator Marisa Prandelli adjusts a display of heads of ‘Cybermen’ in the monster vault at the ‘Doctor Who: Worlds of Wonder’ exhibition which opens at the World Museum later this month in Liverpool
Reuters
UK news in pictures 18 May 2022 People cross Regent Street, decorated with flags to mark the upcoming platinum jubilee , to mark the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II
AP
UK news in pictures 17 May 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan on a Elizabeth Line train at Paddington station in London
PA
UK news in pictures 16 May 2022 Protesters from Border Communities Against Brexit outside Hillsborough Castle during a visit by Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Northern Ireland for talks with Stormont parties
PA
UK news in pictures 15 May 2022 Queen Elizabeth II departs following the A Gallop Through History Platinum Jubilee celebration at the Royal Windsor Horse Show at Windsor Castle
PA
UK news in pictures 14 May 2022 Heat haze softens the scene as a paraglider takes to the sky over the cliffs above Boscombe beach in Dorset
PA
UK news in pictures 13 May 2022 Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella as they leave 10 Downing Street, after a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson
PA
UK news in pictures 12 May 2022 Rebekah Vardy leaves the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, during high-profile libel battle between Rebekah Vardy and Coleen Rooney
PA
UK news in pictures 11 May 2022 A Goldeneye swims in the rain at Slimbridge wetlands, Gloucestershire
PA
UK news in pictures 10 May 2022 Britain's Prince Charles, Prince of Wales appears on a screen next to a painting of Queen Elizabeth at the Royal Gallery as he delivers the Queen's Speech during the State Opening of Parliament at the Houses of Parliament, in London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 9 May 2022 Linda Bainbridge (left) and Miyuki Griffin putting the finishing touches to The Crown, Orb and Sceptre exhibit as part of A Festival of Flowers' at Salisbury Cathedral. Hundreds of flower arrangers will be mounting 127 individual exhibits throughout the cathedral in honour of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee
PA
UK news in pictures 8 May 2022 Durham Cathedral which stands on The Bailey, a peninsula formed by the River Wear looping around the historic centre of Durham
PA
UK news in pictures 7 May 2022 Girls from Grace and Poise, the world’s first Muslim ballet school, perform during the Eid in the Square festival in Trafalgar Square, London
PA
UK news in pictures 6 May 2022 Ballots are emptied from a ballot box to be counted, during local elections, at Wandsworth Town Hall, London
Reuters
UK news in pictures 5 May 2022 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives at a polling station with his dog Dilyn to vote during local elections in Westminster, London
EPA
UK news in pictures 4 May 2022 Rob Munday, creator of the first officially commissioned 3D/holographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in 2004, unveils a previously unseen portrait of the monarch to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee, in London. The new portrait is named ‘Platinum Queen: Felicity’ and is dedicated to the 20 years of friendship between The Queen and her personal assistant and close friend Miss Angela Kelly
AP
UK news in pictures 3 May 2022 Alex Kelly from Eden Architectural Conservation cleans a gargoyle on the north doorway at Rosslyn Chapel in Roslin, Midlothian, as part of conservation maintenance
PA
UK news in pictures 2 May 2022 People enjoy theme park rides at a funfair at Small Heath Park in Birmingham, as the holy month of Ramadan comes to an end and Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr
PA
The other categories in the ONS's calculation are rail travel assistants like guards and station staff, who are paid an average of ￡33,310, and rail construction and maintenance operatives who are paid ￡34,998.
These two groups constitute a large bulk of the workers going on strike.
Unlike the government, the RMT puts the average salary at ￡33,000. The union's figures exclude train drivers, who are not going on strike and are represented by a different union, Aslef.
But the RMT also says 10,000 cleaners are represented by the union, alongside other lower-paid staff who are not classified as rail workers in the official statistics despite being included in the dispute.
Recommended Shapps accuses union of ‘punishing’ the public with crippling rail strikes Keir Starmer accuses government of ‘pouring petrol on fire’ of rail dispute NHS patients urged to plan ahead for appointments as rail strikes loom
According to the BBC's Reality Check service, "it seems likely that if you add a number of low-paid staff such as cleaners to the calculation then you could get the average down to about ￡33,000", once train drivers are also excluded.
Ultimately, however much rail workers earn and whichever figure is taken, they will be seeing a real-terms cut in their pay unless they can negotiate a new pay offer. Unlike most workers they are well-unionised and better placed to resist pay cuts.