Mick Lynch: Government deliberately ensuring rail strikes go ahead | Railway strikes

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RMT union leader Mick Lynch has accused the government of deliberately ensuring railway strikes go ahead next week by blocking negotiations, with railway bosses calling the talks a “waste of time” while ministers insist on unacceptable clauses.

He said meetings between the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) representing the train operators and the RMT had failed for three days in a row because of a clause introduced for driver-only operation, which all railway unions had staunchly opposed for many years.

Speaking in the boardroom of RMT headquarters in Euston on Thursday, Lynch said the Department for Transport was “not trusted in Whitehall” and that other ministers had sought to block the decision. “There’s always a driver in the back seat, and then there’s someone sitting behind the driver in the back seat, that’s the problem.

Mick Lynch says the government “blew up” negotiations on strikes – on video

“RDG won’t talk, they say it’s a waste of time. They should run the train companies, and they’re really tired.”

The train companies offer on Sunday evening was rejected by the RMT. Asked by MPs on Wednesday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper refused to deny reports that Downing Street had inserted controversial clauses into the deal at the weekend, after a positive meeting between the union, rail leaders and a minister on Friday.

The two sides had otherwise come to the position that the union “would have been a big challenge, but just didn’t have a driver run,” Lynch said.

“We went in on Sunday fully expecting them to fill in the pay gaps, and [the RDG] He said, “We can’t do what we said, [the DfT] It made us apply driver-only process in this document, which we as managers had pulled. “

“They could also walk with a fish and slap me about the cut,” he added.

The RMT leader said that many members would probably oppose a potential deal, which would mean “the closing of every ticket office in Britain – that’s no exaggeration, that’s in the written offer”.

He added, “There is no hope of settling this dispute. If we get an offer, we have to consult. We are banned by this government.”

RDG did not provide further comment, but its chairman, Steve Montgomery, said on Tuesday: “Unfortunately, the refusal of RMT leadership to put forward the proposed 8% payment offer to its members means that we are unable to come to a solution at this stage, although we remain open to conversations.”

Lynch said the union has settled in Wales, Scotland, Merceril and London – “everywhere DfT doesn’t run railways”.

“In my view, they are doing it deliberately because they want action,” he said, adding that the government was trying to change the strike law, imposing minimum levels of strike action in sectors including health and railways, because they “have not won an argument.” Polls show The opinion that 70% support us.

RMT also rejected Network Rail’s payment offer on Monday, ensuring that the first wave of strikes will continue over the next month next week.

Lynch said that three-quarters of union members at Network Rail earn less than £35,000. A wage increase, of 9% plus benefits over two years, will be subsidized and can be worth up to 14% over two years for the lowest paid.

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He said that members of Network Rail will now decide whether to accept the offer in an electronic referendum, but expect to reject it, stressing that job security and safety are as important as salary.

He warned: “It is funded by thousands of lost jobs and a 50% reduction in the safety system. If a train derails at 140 miles an hour with 900 people in it, they’ll probably say, “Yeah, but we saved a few million bonuses in the 2022 wage dispute.” The railways will be less safe than now.”

Train services across Britain will be brought to a major halt as thousands of workers at Network Rail and 14 train operating companies strike on 13-14 and 16-17 December.

Train operators asked passengers to travel only if absolutely necessary. Timetables will be published on Friday, but around 20% of services are expected to be running on strike days, mainly between 7.30am and 6.30pm, with disruptions occurring on the following days.

There will be two more 48-hour strikes on January 3-4 and 6-7, as well as a strike from the evening of Christmas Eve until early December 27, which will mainly disrupt engineering work.

Also on Wednesday, the other rail union, TSSA, confirmed a strike on December 17 and other off-strike industrial action against several operators, also accusing the government of blocking a deal with the train companies.

A DfT spokesperson said: “We’ve been clear from the start that labor practice reforms are a necessary part of this deal, in order to fund the wage offer and modernize the railways.

“The prime minister, chancellor and transport minister remain in complete agreement on the offer that was put on the table this week.”

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