RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch speaking at a rally outside King's Cross Station in London,
(Picture: PA)Strike action on the national railways will last “indefinitely” unless the Government abandons its stance that guards are removed from trains, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch warned on Thursday evening.
The RMT said hopes of a deal with 14 train companies that would have averted next week’s walkouts was scuppered on Sunday when a late condition was added – that trains should become driver-only operated (DOO).
The union believes the precondition was added by Downing Street – which Transport Secretary Mark Harper was unable to deny when asked at the transport select committee on Wednesday.
Mr Lynch made clear the union was prepared to fight to the end on what it regarded as a matter of principle.
“This union will go down on this issue,” he said. “We will not accept DOO in any form.”
Asked if the Government’s requirement for a driver-only network meant industrial action was likely to last indefinitely, Mr Lynch said: “It will be indefinite if that is their position.”
He said Aslef, which represents the majority of train drivers, was also vehemently opposed to driver-only trains.
Driver-only trains have been in use on some UK rail lines for about 30 years. Thameslink, London Overground and London Underground trains are all driver-only.
My full exchange with the Transport Secretary in which he refuses to deny the Government scuppered a deal on the rail dispute by adding driver only trains to the talks at the last minute last weekend - ensuring misery for millions at Christmas. https://t.co/xUgLAxd9Sr
— Ben Bradshaw (@BenPBradshaw) December 7, 2022
RMT members are due to walk out at Network Rail and 14 rail firms next Tuesday and Wednesday and on Friday and Saturday. This will result in week-long of chaos on the railways, with only 20 per cent of trains running and no services in some areas.
Speaking to journalists for 45 minutes inside the RMT’s Euston headquarters, Mr Lynch said the rail firms were “not losing a penny” from the strikes as they were being “reimbursed” by the Government.
He said rail firms had received payments worth £318m and had not suffered a loss of income – unlike striking workers, who lose a day’s pay for each action. Only the worst off members are able to apply to a union hardship fund for help.
The rail dispute has effectively split in two, with the RMT closer to securing a deal with Network Rail but appearing miles from reaching agreement with the train companies.
The 14 train companies affected by RMT action are: Great Western Railway, Avanti West Coast, South Western Railway, Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Northern Trains, Southeastern, TransPennine Express, West Midlands Trains and GTR (including Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink).
The RMT is holding an electronic referendum of Network Rail members to give them the chance of accepting an offer from Network Rail, which is worth five per cent this year and four per cent next year and up to 14 per cent for staff earning less than £25,000 a year.
The result is due at midday on Monday. If members vote to accept the deal, the RMT will cancel the walkout planned by track maintenance workers between December 24 and December 27.
But the RMT has recommended that its Network Rail members reject the deal, as it says the pay rises are funded by “thousands” of unspecified job cuts and a reduction in track safety checks, which Mr Lynch claimed would mean the railways were “less safe than they are now”.
The offer from the train companies, made on their behalf by the Rail Delivery Group, is worth four per cent this year and four per cent next year.
Mr Lynch said he believed a deal for rail workers was being blocked by Government departments such as the Department for Health as it would act as a precent for other public sector workers demanding a pay rise, such as nurses and paramedics.
“My wife is a nurse,” he said. “She hasn’t had a pay rise for six years.”
Steve Montgomery, chair of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Regrettably, the RMT leadership’s refusal to put our proposedeight per cent pay offer to its membership means we are unable to reach a resolution at this stage, although we remain open to talks.
“With the deadline having passed where disruption could be avoided even if strikes were called off, our focus is on giving passengers the maximum possible certainty so they can make their festive plans.
“We continue to urge RMT leaders to put our proposals to their members rather than condemning them to weeks of lost pay either side of Christmas during a cost-of-living crisis.”
