Katy Austin
Transport Correspondent

York station is open, but very quiet. There are trains running here today, but fewer than usual. The first train - to London - left just after 08:00.

Some places nearby have no services; Scarborough, for example, is cut off by rail.

Kim Lee uses the train to commute regularly between York and Leeds, but says he's "fully supportive" of the strikes.

"I think the government need to get their act together and get this sorted out rather than letting the country grind to a halt," he said. "I blame the government, not the unions.”

Another commuter, Charlotte Jones, said she has been very inconvenienced, and will have to get an hour-long bus journey home from work because trains will have stopped running by then.

On the picket line outside York station, RMT members who work in a variety of roles on board trains and at the station, are standing in front of their red and green flags.

They told me that for them, pay is just one part of the equation.

They worry that changes proposed under the offer made by the group representing train companies, mean their jobs are under threat and safety will be compromised.

More now from Transport Secretary Mark Harper who has rejected reports that he blocked an offer of a 10% pay rise over two years for RMT members.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said: “I haven’t blocked any offers - quite the reverse... I made sure there was an improved offer on the table, it’s a very fair and reasonable offer.”

Asked whether he demanded driver-only operation as a condition of that offer, he said: “Reform has been on the table from the beginning of the process. It is not a new thing at all, it’s been on the table from the beginning.

“It’s part of a package of delivering reform that helps generate the savings that can then fund a reasonable, fair pay offer which is what is on the table.”

Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT union, questioned the relevance of putting a figure on the amount of pay lost by workers.

Asked about the average amount of pay union members had lost through the strike period, Lynch declined to provide a direct number and instead criticised the BBC for "not pursuing the government" about a pay rise for its members.

Pressed again on the amount of pay lost though strike action, Lynch asked: “Why do you need that number?

“Why aren’t you interested in what network rail and the government are doing to working people across this country?

“You’re not pursuing the fact working people, millions of them, are being impoverished and some of them made destitute by the attitude of this government and by their employers.”

Read more here.

Nick Eardley
Chief political correspondent

Image source, EPA

For months, the government refused to meet rail unions to discuss these strikes.

When that policy changed, there was some hope it would lead to a breakthrough.

But that hasn’t happened. Warmer words and some optimism in Whitehall have not been enough.

The government isn’t directly involved in negotiating a pay deal – it says that is for employers to sort out.

But unions believe ministers should be doing a lot more, and securing more funding, to allow a better deal to be offered.

Ministers are frustrated that these strikes are going ahead and have been arguing that there is appetite for a deal among union members.

They want unions to get back around the table to try and prevent more disruption.

But as things stand this morning, we’re in for a long month of disruption on the railways.

Image source, Getty Images

The latest round of rail strikes will severely reduce Scotland's train network until Sunday.

RMT members at Network Rail have rejected the latest pay offer meaning five days of disruption are under way.

The dispute does not involve ScotRail staff but means the train operator will only be able to run 12 routes across the central belt, Fife and the Borders.

There will be no service on all other ScotRail routes across Scotland until Sunday.

Many of the Network Rail staff taking part in the strike do safety-critical jobs which means it is not possible for ScotRail to run the majority of its services.   

David Simpson, ScotRail service delivery director, said:  "It's really disappointing to see more widespread disruption across the whole Great Britain rail network as a result of the dispute between Network Rail and the RMT at a time when we need to be encouraging more people back to the railway.

"For ScotRail, it's going to mean that we won't be able to operate the vast majority of our services between 13 and 17 December, which we know will be really frustrating for our customers.   

 "We're advising customers to seek alternative means of transport and to only travel if they really need to on the days of strike action."

Read in full: Which ScotRail services are running?

Image source, KENNY WILLIAMSON

We've just mentioned the poor weather in Shetland.

The dire conditions left about 3,800 homes without power after the islands were hit by heavy snow.

The areas affected include Voe and Brae in the north mainland along with the islands of Yell, Unst and Whalsay.

The majority of faults have been caused by snow and ice sticking to overhead power lines, causing them to fail.

All schools and early learning settings across the islands are closed, with the exception of those in Fair Isle.

Several schools in the Highland Council area are also closed due to the weather.

Graeme Keddie, of SSE Networks, told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland the network in Shetland had been damaged by extreme weather on Monday afternoon and evening.

"We've reconnected about 2,000 homes across Shetland but around 3,800 remain without power. Some of them were connected last night but further damage has been reported." he said.

Read in full.

Image source, HM COASTGUARD - ORKNEY & SHETLAND

Coastguard teams are assisting police across Shetland in heavy snow and wintry conditions.

Around 40 vehicles were stuck on a hill at Weisdale .

The alarm was raised at about 3pm on Monday afternoon, and it took seven hours to move them all, and to allow Shetland Island Council gritters to treat the surface.

Neil Hutchison from the council's roads service in the islands told the Good Morning Scotland programme fortunately there wasn't much more snow overnight.

"The first thing we'll be doing today is clearing the main roads, then of course we'll be moving to the side roads.

"That'll be much later in the day."

There were quite a lot of vehicles stuck in various places in the road network, he says, but once they were cleared people were able to get past and move on.

Travel disruption caused by the train strikes is causing "frustration" for students, with more action planned over the festive period.

Swansea University student Huw Gwynn, 21, from Bangor, Gwynedd, said he understood why the industrial action was being taken but it was "frustrating for people who rely on getting trains".

"It's very problematic to be honest," he said. "It makes it really difficult for me to schedule everything."

The third-year Welsh student has been affected before, taking a near nine-hour bus journey to get home.

Two others affected are Catrin Parry and Elin Hughes, both students at Cardiff University.

They were hoping to travel home on the train to Anglesey for Christmas after their lectures finish on Friday, but due to the strikes, they're having to get a lift home from Elin's mum. She is planning on travelling almost five hours down to Cardiff from Anglesey in order to take them back up to north Wales.

Robert Cuffe
Head of statistics

October was the worst month for strikes since the public sector walkout over pensions in November 2011.

But the year so far is more like the worst in 30 years. And that’s before all of December’s strikes feed into the data.

The Office for National Statistics stopped collecting data on days lost to strikes during the pandemic and only started again in June.

Since then, we’ve lost 1.16 million days of work to strike action, the worst total since the five months to April 1990.

Of course, all of these figures are way lower than those seen in the early 1980s or late 1970s.

The world has changed: fewer people are in unions, the rules around striking have changed and today’s inflation is half that seen in the late 70s.

And “days lost to strikes” is not quite the same as disruption: you’re more likely to notice a train driver or nurse striking than a statistician who downs spreadsheets.

But the data are clear: we’re in for a winter of serious disruption.

Read more here.

Sarah Czarnecki, vice chair of the Hospitality Association York, said some hotels in the city had seen bookings, conferences and meetings cancelled" because of the nervousness around getting here and getting back".

"This happening in the week before Christmas is obviously going to hurt because everybody's trying to bolster their bank balance in order to deal with the first quarter of next year, which are traditionally quiet months," she said.

“So we really need to make as much revenue as we can leading up to Christmas to buffer us for the beginning of next year.

“Our post pandemic recovery was very strong, the city continues to be a very attractive proposition.

“York will get through this and recover.”

It's not just rail workers - more strikes in more professions are due to take place this week. If you're not sure why people go on strike, or how the whole system works, this quick rundown will get you up to speed.

Going on strike: What you need to know

Image source, PA Media

More now on the latest series of rail strikes kicking off today, which are set to bring the UK's rail network to a standstill, after members of the UK's biggest rail union, the RMT, rejected fresh pay offers.

Asked whether support for strikes amongst the members are falling, Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT union says: "No it’s not. We’ve got massive picket lines out today.

"Our members are standing by the core and they’re prepared to take action until we’ve got a settlement that they can agree to, and we haven’t got that at the moment," he tells BBC Radio 4's Today Programme.

He says the government "needs to facilitate a settlement that says 'let’s get real and lets puts some stuff to the RMT they can cope with and deal with'".

Image source, PA Media

The latest round of rail strikes will severely reduce Scotland's train network until Sunday, despite the settlement of a pay dispute between ScotRail and RMT members in November.

Five days of disruption are under way across the UK, after RMT members at Network Rail rejected the latest pay offer.

The dispute does not involve ScotRail staff but means the train operator will only be able to run 12 routes across the central belt, Fife and the Borders.

There will be no service on all other ScotRail routes across Scotland until Sunday.

Read more on the situation in Scotland here.

Image source, Getty Images

The unions are in dispute with the government and rail companies about pay, job cuts and changes to terms and conditions.

Unions say any pay offer should reflect the rising cost of living. But the rail industry is under pressure to save money, after the pandemic left a hole in its finances.

Bosses say reforms need to be agreed, to afford pay increases and modernise the railway.

Network Rail is planning to cut 1,900 jobs as part of changes to the way its maintenance teams work - although it insists most of this could be achieved by people leaving voluntarily.

The RMT disagrees with some of the changes and wants a guarantee of no compulsory job losses.

But what deal have rail workers been offered?

Network Rail made an offer of a 5% pay rise this year and a 4% pay rise in 2023.

But RMT union boss Mick Lynch described the deal as "substandard" and its members have rejected it.

The union also rejected an offer from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) - which represents train companies. That included a pay increase of up to 8% over two years and a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until April 2024.

In exchange, it wanted repurposing or closure of ticket offices and Sunday working.

Read more here.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper says he was "very disappointed" that the RMT rejected a latest pay offer "out of hand".

"It’s very important that people recognise we’ve made a reasonable pay offer in line with what people are getting in the private sector," he tells BBC Breakfast.

Harper says he had a "perfectly constructive" meeting with RMT union boss Mick Lynch recently. He says that Lynch asked him to make sure that there was a fair offer made by the train operating companies.

"An improved offer was made by Network Rail. It’s been accepted by other train unions but the RMT rejected it out of hand," Harper says.

"A fair and reasonable offer has been made, we do also need to see reform agreed at the same time," he adds.

"The rail industry is not sustainable the way it is at the moment."

Freezing temperatures overnight mean travel conditions will remain difficult in some areas of the UK this morning, the Met Office says.

Three yellow weather warnings are in place, external across the UK involving ice. They affect parts of the east and south-east of England (including London), most of Northern Ireland, the north-east of England, and northern Scotland.

The Met Office says there will be icy stretches on untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, after there was some thawing of lying snow on Monday.

Freezing fog in Northern Ireland could also make travel conditions trickier. While in parts of Scotland and north-east England some snow and sleet is forecast.

You can find out the weather forecast for your area, with an hourly breakdown and a 14-day lookahead, by downloading the BBC Weather app: Apple , external- Android , external- Amazon, external

The BBC Weather app is only available to download in the UK.

Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail, calls the strikes a "dramatic escalation".

"It’s going to be deeply painful to everybody trying to use the railway, the people on strike, and the system which is struggling to recover” from the pandemic, he tells the BBC's Today programme.

He accuses the RMT of rejecting "principles of reform" required to offer workers pay rises, including being able to send the right number of people to a job, rather than a fixed number.

He points out that National Rail has given a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until 2025.

"This is about making us more efficient but not at the expense of jobs," he says.

Haines adds that he's "deeply worried" that public support for the railway could ebb away.

"We’ve got to welcome new people to the railway - people who haven’t historically considered rail as a viable option for their journey," he says.

"That means we’ve got to be attractive, reliable and safe, and we will not be doing that if we’ve got four weeks of needless disruption, particularly when there’s a good deal on the table."

The general secretary of the RMT Union, Mick Lynch, says the government is "deliberately obstructing" the means to a deal with the union.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Lynch says the government's latest pay offer - rejected by the union yesterday - is "way below inflation" and is "entirely unacceptable".

"Our members don't want to accept the offer... the value in the deal is not high enough," he says.

Though he remains "optimistic" that a deal can be reached, he says the government needs to help "facilitate" that deal.

"There is an opportunity to develop solutions, but the government I'm afraid is preventing that from happening," he says.

"They are deliberately obstructing that deal".

"We've seen it with the nurses, we've seen it with the paramedics... They are obstructing these deals because they want to keep wages lowered and they want to strip out the terms and conditions for many people".

"It's the same agenda being put forward to workers, that you've got to get poorer while profits and dividends are at record levels."

Image source, .

Strikes across the country will continue into 2023 unless the government commits to meaningful pay talks with unions, the TUC has warned.

The union body has accused the government of refusing to engage in good faith on pay, "stonewalling" negotiations and hiding behind pay review bodies.

The TUC said it will be working with its affiliated unions to "step up" its campaigning on public sector pay.

"Nobody goes on strike lightly, but working people have been pushed to breaking point, “ said General Secretary Frances O'Grady.

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

As well as facing the transport issues from strike action, commuters are also facing some extremely wintry weather.

Last night was the coldest night of the year in England and the UK as a whole.

In Redesdale, Northumberland, temperatures dropped to -11.8C.

Meanwhile, Braemar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, saw temperatures drop to -17.3C.

You can see a full forecast for the country below.