Christmas rail strikes will still go ahead as RMT pans government's 'late intervention'
A resolution to the ongoing rail dispute is “further away” after late intervention by the government in talks aimed at resolving the row over pay, jobs and conditions, a union has claimed.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said it has heard from rail companies that there will be no revised offer from them, after being “instructed” by the government instead to “take on” planned strikes next week.
The RMT said: “It is now absolutely clear that the Rail Delivery Group (RDG)’s attempts to resolve the dispute by making a revised and improved offer have been blocked by the government.
“The companies know that RMT cannot, and never will, accept the implementation of driver-only operation (DOO) as a national principle for operating the railways.
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“It is also clear that it is the government itself, and not the RDG, that insisted that DOO was inserted in to the proposals on Sunday evening as a pre-condition, and the responsibility for the failure to progress proposals towards a resolution lies solely with the government, who have torpedoed the dispute resolution process. “The planned industrial action for RMT train operating company members goes ahead as scheduled, as there is no resolution to the dispute and in fact a resolution is now further away due to the government’s late intervention in the negotiating process.”
Steve Montgomery, chair of the Rail Delivery Group, said: “Regrettably, the RMT leadership’s refusal to put our proposed 8% 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."
Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said: “The RMT has deliberately chosen to try and ruin Christmas for millions of passengers and businesses. They’re also intent on inflicting a monumental act of harm on an industry still desperate to recover from post-Covid challenges by sabotaging a vital £100 million programme of rail upgrades planned for Christmas Day and Boxing Day.
"“The industry will do all it can to keep services running and projects on-track but serious disruption is inevitable given the RMT’s action."
Earlier in the evening, train drivers at 12 rail companies voted overwhelmingly to continue strike action in a long-running row over pay.
The Aslef union said "huge" turnouts showed how angry its members are.
Rail workers will be joined by teachers, Royal Mail staff, nurses and Border Force workers in striking this December.
The UK faces almost one strike every day in the run-up to Christmas.
When asked how he plans to curb the impact of industrial action, Rishi Sunak told ITV News: "The most important thing we can do to help people is to control inflation. We've got to reduce inflation. That's what's making life difficult for nurses and for everyone else in the country. "And a big part of how we're going to grip and reduce inflation is by having restraint when it comes to pay settlements and making sure that they're reasonable and fair."