Train strikes: Three walkouts in four days to bring more rail misery as …
(PA)
RMT[1] members working for 14 train companies will stage a fresh strike on June 2 in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the union has announced.
The strike on June 2 will see 20,000 railway workers in catering, train managers and station staff take action, affecting train services throughout the country.
It means there will be three rail strikes within four days with Aslef train drivers walking out on 31 May and 3 June, the day of the FA Cup final and Epsom Derby.
In a statement, the RMT said the Rail Delivery Group[2]’s previous pay offer and associated conditions were “unacceptable”.
”Despite contact between the parties since the strike on 13 May, no new proposals have been formulated for the RMT to consider,” the union tweeted on Thursday.
The day of action takes the total length of the RMT’s dispute with the Government to a year and comes as the National Education Union (NEU) said teachers would strike in July if their pay dispute is not resolved by mid-June[3].
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The Government is once again not allowing the Rail Delivery Group to make an improved offer that we can consider.
“Therefore, we have to pursue our industrial campaign to win a negotiated settlement on jobs, pay and conditions.
“Ministers cannot just wish this dispute away.
“They underestimate the strength of feeling our members, who have just given us a new six-month strike mandate, continue to support the campaign and the action and are determined to see this through until we get an acceptable resolution.
“The Government now needs to unlock the RDG and allow them to make an offer that can be put to a referendum of our members.”
An RDG spokesperson said: “In recent discussions with the RMT, we have continued to stand by the fair, industry-level dispute resolution proposal agreed line by line with their negotiating team, which would have resolved this dispute and given our lowest-paid staff a rise of up to 13 per cent.
Story continues
“By calling more strike action, the RMT leadership have chosen to prolong this dispute without ever giving their members a chance to have a say on their own offer.
“Instead, they will be subject to yet more lost pay through industrial action, customers will suffer more disruption, and the industry will continue to suffer huge damage at a time when the railway is taking more than its fair share from taxpayers to keep trains running post-Covid.
“We remain open and willing to engage in national-level talks so that we can secure a pay rise for our people and the long-term future of an industry vital to Britain's economy.”
Aslef, which represents train drivers, ground the rail network to a halt on Friday, May 12, with its last strike.[4]
A walkout by the RMT last Saturday also disrupted services during the Eurovision song contest, which was held in Liverpool.[5]
Aslef’s general secretary Mick Whelan said there had been no meetings with the Government since early January despite continuing deadlock over the pay row.
The union has described an offer of an 8 per cent wage rise over two years as “risible”.
References
- ^ RMT (www.standard.co.uk)
- ^ Rail Delivery Group (www.standard.co.uk)
- ^ The day of action takes the total length of the RMT’s dispute with the Government to a year and comes as the National Education Union (NEU) said teachers would strike in July if their pay dispute is not resolved by mid-June (www.standard.co.uk)
- ^ Aslef, which represents train drivers, ground the rail network to a halt on Friday, May 12, with its last strike. (www.standard.co.uk)
- ^ A walkout by the RMT last Saturday also disrupted services during the Eurovision song contest, which was held in Liverpool. (www.standard.co.uk)