The ongoing national rail dispute over pay has been named 'the fight of our lifetime' by the union leader, just days after travellers were hit by mass cancellations in Manchester and the rest of the UK. Piccadilly and Victoria station, among others, were left eerily quiet just weeks ago, as rail staff staged a walkout over pay and conditions.
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), said negotiations over pay, jobs and conditions were the 'toughest' the union had ever been involved in. So far, union members have staged three strikes over the row which crippled services up and down the country.
No new strikes have been set and talks have been continuing between the union, Network Rail and the train operators. Mr Lynch told the RMT’s annual meeting in Birmingham: “They are trying to cut thousands of jobs and they have no scruples in cutting back on safety regimes in order to do so.
