Unions have a "duty to coordinate" strike action in the run up to Christmas as working people are under "generalised attack", the RMT General Secretary has said.
Mick Lynch accepted there would be greater disruption on the railways on Christmas Eve due to walkout by Network Rail staff - who maintain the track - from 6pm until 6am on December 27.
The offer will be put to members but the union has recommended that they reject it.
It comes on top of the RMT’s planned strikes at both Network Rail and 14 train companies, on December 13, 14, 16 and 17, and January 3, 4, 6 and 7.
The RMT chief said his members were being forced into action by the Government - and said the "price of labour is too low".
Labour's Angela Rayner said the "militant" Tories were to blame for the rail strikes which threaten misery for festive travellers.
Rishi Sunak is chairing a Cabinet meeting this morning as the Government scrambles to tackle the threat of mass walkouts ahead of Christmas.
Unions representing ambulance workers are expected to announce pre-Christmas strike dates today and thousands of nurses will strike on December 15 and 20.
Mr Lynch said he didn't want strikes to go ahead before Christmas but the Government was "running the playbook", leading employers to make "paltry offers" at the last minute.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We regret the inconvenience that we are causing but this inconvenience is being caused by the Government who are running the playbook and the strategy for the companies and directing what's going on."
He said there is always a wind-down of trains on Christmas Eve but accepted there would be earlier disruption due to the action.
Mr Lynch said wages were being lowered against soaring inflation, which passed 11%, while conditions are being "ripped up".
He said: "There is a generalised attack on working people where they are having their wages lowered against inflation and often their conditions ripped up… it is not just about pay, they are offering very paltry pay rises in return for chopping up terms and conditions and changes to working practices.
"So it feels like a general attack by the employers and by the Government and by organisations that are coordinating what they are doing, clearly, so it would be foolish of unions not to coordinate themselves in a response to those attacks."
He argued that the price of labour is wrong and the unions have to correct that.
"If people are having to rely on food banks they are not being paid enough," he said.
Talks with the Rail Delivery Group over the long-running dispute on pay, jobs and conditions will still take place on Tuesday.
Schools Minister Nick Gibb told the rail union not to "hold the country to ransom".
But Labour's deputy leader said the “complete shambles” had been caused by the ministers’ failure to resolve pay talks.
Ms Rayner told BBC Breakfast: "These people who are going on strike are going to lose pay, they will lose their pay at a time when they will need it most, they are not doing it at a drop of a hat.
"This is a militant Government that is not dealing with the issues and not resolving this strike action, and it's frustrating… It's a complete shambles of the Government's making and they really need to get off their hands and resolve this.
"When I speak to the trade unions they're very clear they do not want to go on strike, they want to resolve this dispute, it's this Government that seems to want to ratchet it up and want to attack workers' rights and cause this disruption."
Strikes are set to hit 14 train companies next week as the RMT has recommended its members should reject the latest offer from Network Rail.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said it is "incredibly disappointing" that strikes are going ahead despite a "new and improved deal offering job security and a fair pay rise".
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) has said it will call off strikes planned in Network Rail for December and is putting an offer to its members.
The TSSA had been due to strike on December 17 and take other forms of industrial action from December 13.
