More summer travel chaos expected as fresh strike date set by rail union for July

ITV News Correspondent Ian Woods explains why the upcoming rail strikes could be even more disruptive than the last ones

Rail workers are to stage a fresh strike in the bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, prompting fears of further travel chaos during the peak of the summer holiday season.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at train companies and Network Rail will walk out for 24 hours on July 27, after union leaders rejected a new offer from Network Rail which they described as “paltry”. The offer was for a 4% pay rise backdated to January, another 2% next year and a further 2% conditional on achieving “modernisation milestones”.

The latest strike is happening a day before the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The RMT, which could stage walkouts in coordination with other unions, said it has yet to receive a pay offer or guarantees over job losses from the train operating companies (TOCs). As disputes escalate across the rail industry, members of the drivers’ union Aslef and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) at train companies have backed industrial action in recent days.

Separately, almost 700 TSSA members at Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia and TransPennine Express have voted for industrial action in a dispute over pay, conditions and job security. Members at GWR backed strikes and other forms of industrial action and passed the required threshold for both. Those at Greater Anglia and TransPennine Express voted in favour of strikes and action short of a strike, but the legal threshold for a strike ballot was not met. The union is demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for 2022, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the escalating cost of living. TSSA has not named dates for industrial action at these companies but will consider next steps with workplace reps.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The offer from Network Rail represents a real terms pay cut for our members and the paltry sum is conditional on RMT members agreeing to drastic changes in their working lives. “We have made progress on compulsory redundancies, but Network Rail are still seeking to make our members poorer when we have won in some cases double what they are offering, with other rail operators. “The train operating companies remain stubborn and are refusing to make any new offer which deals with job security and pay. “Strike action is the only course open to us to make both the rail industry and government understand that this dispute will continue for as long as it takes, until we get a negotiated settlement. “The public who will be inconvenienced by our strike action need to understand that it is the government’s shackling of Network Rail and the TOCs that means the rail network will be shut down for 24 hours.” The RMT held three strikes last month - on 21, 23 and 25 June - which crippled services across the country. Millions of commuters were affected by the industrial action.

A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said the latest round of action will cause more misery for millions of people.

“Instead of staging more counterproductive strikes, we ask the RMT to come back to the table so we can deliver a deal that works for our people, our passengers and for taxpayers," a spokesperson said.

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