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The Labour Party leader urged MPs to distance themselves from the ongoing strikes from transport workers that have sparked chaos across the country since Tuesday this week. However, Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome joined striking rail workers outside Nottingham Station on Thursday and will also speak at their rally there on Saturday.
In an email to colleagues earlier this week, Sir Keir Starmer said: “We do not want to see these strikes to go ahead with the resulting disruption to the public.”
“We also must show leadership and to that end, please be reminded that frontbenchers including parliamentary private secretaries [PPSs] should not be on picket lines.”
RMT members are striking in a bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
When Ms Whittome was elected, she pledged to share her MP’s salary with local causes in Nottingham.
READ MORE: Commuters in misery as they’re stuck in ‘nightmarish’ strike chaos
She has previously made donations to the local branches of other unions – the IWGB Couriers and the App Driver and Couriers Union – as well as a range of charities, not-for-profits and grassroots groups.
She takes home £35,000 per year after tax, donating the remainder.
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 decent pay and conditions to keep up with 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 from my salary to my local RMT branch strike fund.
“When workers go on strike they don’t get paid. So this money will help to ensure that no-one faces hardship as a result of standing up for themselves at work.”
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