A “renewed offer” will be on the table at crunch talks to avert more rail strikes, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said.
Officials from the Rail Delivery Group, representing train firms, will meet with the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union and Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) on Thursday in a fresh bid to break the deadlock. Mick Whelan, general secretary of the Aslef train drivers’ union, on Wednesday told the Commons Transport Select Committee there was “zero” chance of a resolution. But Mr Harper later said that was “unfair” as the situation had “moved on”.
He told ITV’s Peston: “I’m hopeful that now that there is a renewed offer on the table, that that (a deal) can happen, and we saw confirmation today. The evidence that was given to the Transport Select Committee that there are conversations going on between various of the unions and the companies and I’m hopeful we’ll make some progress in the coming days.”
