Plans are being drawn up to keep passenger and freight trains running in the event of industrial action after unions warned of “potentially the biggest rail strike in modern history”.
The RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers) union is balloting 40,000 members on the action, which network sources have said could create “serious challenges” in keeping supermarket shelves stocked. The vote, which closes on Tuesday, includes staff on Network Rail and 15 train operators, with the RMT protesting over pay, compulsory redundancies and safety.
The union has also announced it intends to ballot members in Scotland for strike action, following what it describes as a “derisory” 2.2% pay offer by ScotRail and proposed timetable changes it branded a “kick in the teeth” to workers. Another union, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, warned of a “summer of discontent” with similar action unless pay disputes were resolved. Its general secretary Manuel Cortes said many members had not seen a wage increase for two years.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is meeting the Prime Minister and Chancellor next week to discuss the threat amid fears in Whitehall that the action could be worse than the junior doctor walkout in 2015, according to The Times.
Specific details about the action have not yet been outlined by the RMT but rail bosses may respond by setting aside certain times of day exclusively for freight trains. A senior rail source told the paper: “We want to keep people and goods moving but there is no doubt we face serious challenges."
The Rail Delivery Group urged against a “premature” ballot but said it was drawing up contingency plans to lessen the effects of a strike. An RDG spokesperson said: “The pandemic was an unprecedented shock for the railway, we now need to adapt to new travel patterns while taking no more than our fair share from the taxpayer. Nobody wins when rail is disrupted. The RMT leadership should put an end to this damaging uncertainty by abandoning their premature ballot."
They added: "Like any responsible industry we are contingency planning to minimise the impact of potential strike action on the economy and to keep goods and passengers moving.”
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Railway workers have had to contend with pay freezes, the prospect of losing their jobs and repeated attacks on their terms and conditions. Removing 2,500 safety-critical jobs from Network Rail will spell disaster for the public, make accidents more likely and will increase the possibility of trains flying off the tracks.
“Train operating companies have praised our members for being key workers during the pandemic but have refused to keep staff pay in line with inflation and soaring living costs. As a result, thousands of railway workers have seen their living standards plummet and have run out of patience.
“The way for trade unions to effectively take on the cost-of-living crisis is to stand up for their members at work and take industrial action when employers are not moved by the force of reasoned argument. A national rail strike will bring the country to a standstill, but our members’ livelihoods and passenger safety are our priorities.”
He added: “We believe in modernising the railways but we do not believe in sacrificing thousands of jobs, constant pay freezes or making the railways unsafe."
The ballot will be among RMT members on Network Rail and Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern Railway, South Western Railway, Island Line, GTR (including Gatwick Express), Transpennine Express, Avanti West Coast, and West Midlands Trains. It closes on Tuesday and the results will be known the following day at 10am.
Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s regional director, said: “We are disappointed that the RMT has taken this decision and urge them again to work with us, not against us, as we build an affordable railway fit for the future.” The Department for Transport has been contacted for comment.
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