Mick Lynch has said the RMT will ballot members again “soon” for future railway strikes, after the union rejected a pay offer on Friday.
The union, which represents rail workers, rejected what had been described as a “best and final” offer from the body representing operators.
It would have meant a 9% pay increase over two years, and the Rail Delivery Group, which is negotiating with the union, said it had dropped a demand for driver-only operation. However, the offer would still mean significant changes to terms and conditions.
Lynch told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday that he had been advised by government ministers that there would not be a fresh pay offer, and Lynch claimed ministers were hoping to make an “example” out of rail workers.
He added that the terms put forward by Network Rail and train operators would still mean a real-terms pay cut – and a ballot would take place.
The RMT general secretary said: “We don’t need to do that for a while. This mandate continues til May. We want to overlap those mandates.
“We will start that ballot process soon so that there’s a continuous mandate. We hope we don’t have to take any further industrial action.
“We will be working for a settlement. I am ready to meet the companies early next week and report back on whatever it is they have to propose to us. We will keep working on a solution.
“We want to keep talking to the companies. Our position is that we would like them to come to the table with a non-conditional offer … but the government is telling them they can’t do that.”
On Friday Lynch said the offer did not meet its 40,000 members’ expectations on “pay, job security or working conditions”.
The offer was not put to RMT members, but was instead voted on by the union’s national executive committee, made up of representatives elected by members.
The RMT had said it was seeking “an unconditional pay offer, a job security agreement and no detrimental changes being imposed on members terms, conditions and working practices”.
Its current strike mandate runs until late May, but a fresh ballot could extend the window for strikes until beyond the summer.
Network Rail’s chief negotiator, Tim Shoveller, said: “The RMT’s leadership is condemning its members to continuing a fruitless, pointless and costly dispute for everyone involved. To suggest they’ve undertaken ‘in-depth consultation with their 40,000 members’ is frankly laughable, that’s called ‘a referendum’, something the leadership continues to shy away from.
“Our rank and file employees are telling us they want to take the current improved offer that’s on the table and to end this dispute but the RMT leadership refuses to listen and instead takes soundings from the echo chamber of its most active members. It’s time for a second referendum on our new, revised offer and time to end this and work together to rebuild our railway.”
