demands government acts to end rail chaos
On the eve of further strike action, rail union RMT has called for industry summit to end rail chaos and resolve toxic rail dispute as cost of dispute to taxpayers and business reaches £1.2 billion and even rail employers warn government approach could lead to even more strikes and cancellations.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch has written to the Secretary of State for Transport to call for an industry summit of unions, employers and government, with an independent chair if necessary, to end chaos on the railways and resolve the toxic rail dispute.
The call came as it was revealed in written evidence to MPs that representatives of all the train operating companies involved in the dispute have said that a cornerstone of the government’s strategy, its pending strikes minimum services legislation, could lead to more strikes and cancellations.
This was reinforced by a survey of thousands of rail workers, over 90 per cent of whom said that the legislation would worsen industrial relations and prolong disputes.
It was also revealed that the government’s approach to the dispute had cost taxpayers and the economy an eye watering £1.25bn whilst private train companies make hundreds of millions in profits with bumper pay rises for rail bosses.
“It has been business as usual for the private train companies who stand to have made over £400m in taxpayer funded profits by the end of the year with bosses receiving pay rises of between 15 – 275 per cent,” the letter said.
ENDS
Editors note:
1. The full text of the letter is below.
12 May 2023
The Rt. Hon. Mark Harper MP
Secretary of State for Transport
Great Minster House
33 Horseferry Road
London
SW1P 4DR
Dear Mark,
Take action to end the chaos on Rail
On Thursday the government was forced to bring the TransPennine Express franchise into public ownership after months of significant disruption and regular cancellations.
It’s clear to us and the wider public that private train operation is failing. However, the actions of your government, up to this moment, have compounded this failure tenfold, creating chaos on our railways, not least in the management of the rail dispute which threatens to do lasting damage to the rail industry.
While we have reached agreements for rail workers with the Scottish and Welsh governments your government’s management of the dispute is set to plunge our railways into even more and worse disruption for months to come.
Instead of facilitating a resolution, your government has repeatedly torpedoed negotiations. Instead of bringing management and unions together, you are driving a deeper wedge between them.
Even the representatives of all the train opening companies have now said your Minimum Services Strikes legislation “could mean trade unions increasingly vote to take strike action more frequently which negates the aim of this policy” and could lead to “staff choosing not to work additional hours/rest days, which can lead to staff shortages and service cancellations.” [i]
And instead of trying to improve workplace relations, you are condemning the railways to years of bitter conflict. Over 90% of rail workers surveyed believe that your new legislation will worsen industrial relations and prolong disputes. [ii]
Moreover, it is astonishing that the government has so far expected the taxpayer and wider economy to shoulder the cost of these disputes to date, amounting to at least £1.25 billion[iii], far more than it would cost to settle, as your own rail minister has admitted. At the same time, it has been business as usual for the private train companies who stand to have made over £400m in taxpayer funded profits by the end of the year with bosses receiving pay rises of between 15 – 275%.
As with the change in direction by the government in taking the TransPennine Express contact into public ownership there must also be a fresh approach to the rail dispute. The government can no longer stick its head in the stand and must instead get a grip and reset the relationships.
I’m therefore calling on you now to convene an industry summit with government, employers and unions, with an independent chair if necessary, to end the toxic industrial relations and chaos on the railway and give the employers a new mandate to resolve the dispute.
Yours sincerely
Michael Lynch
RMT General Secretary
2. Strikes
RMT members at 14 train operating companies are taking strike action today (Saturday May 13) to demand a fair deal for rail workers. The date was chosen as it was the last date allowed under this country’s anti-trade union laws.