Fresh strike causes more misery for rail passengers as bitter dispute continues

A fresh strike by railway workers caused more travel misery for passengers on Friday as a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions remained deadlocked.

Talks between the leader of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), train company employers and Rail Minister Huw Merriman on Thursday failed to make a breakthrough.

The union went ahead with another 48 hour walkout from Friday on Network Rail and 14 train operators which crippled services across the country.

Trains started later than usual and will finish earlier, while some parts of the country had no services.

Disruption will continue for the rest of the month because of an overtime ban by RMT members at 14 train operators.

A strike by bus drivers in London added to the travel chaos.

Members of Unite employed by Abellio are taking action over pay.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch joined a picket line in London and said the union continued to receive strong support from the public.

He told the PA news agency: “Many people are suffering from low wages.”

Asked about the NHS dispute, he said: “It won’t particularly bear directly on our negotiations and nor will ours on theirs, but we’ve got to show support for each other because people are struggling, all workers are struggling at the moment with low pay and poor conditions and we’re happy to support the nurses and I’m sure they would empathise with what we’re going through and our members are going through.”

Asked why he joined a Royal College of Nursing picket line on Thursday, he added: “I’m an NHS user, that’s my hospital where I was born and bred. My parents died in that hospital, my wife worked in that hospital, she’s a nurse herself.

“And it’s a natural thing for a trade unionist and any worker to go and support people that are running a very just campaign.”

Asked if last night’s talks raise the chances of strikes being called off before Christmas, Mr Lynch said: “Well it’s better we are talking than not, so the rail minister convened a meeting last night with the RMT representatives along Network Rail and the train operators.

“We exchanged some ideas and some possibilities, there was no negotiations at that, nothing arising tangible out of that.

“But what he did having heard that, as the facilitator, as they describe themselves, and the people that ultimately own the purse strings, is he invited us and requested that we get together and hold further talks going forward and we’ll do that in the next period if the companies want to get engaged in it.”

Steve Montgomery, who chairs 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.

“No-one wanted to see these strikes go ahead, and we can only apologise to passengers and to the many businesses who will be hit by this unnecessary and damaging disruption.

“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.”

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 £100m 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.

“In talks over the months we have sought to address all the RMT’s concerns by putting a decent pay rise on the table, guaranteeing a job for anyone that wants one, significantly raising base salaries for the lowest paid and offering a new, huge rail travel discount scheme for members, and their families.

“By any reasonable measure, we have put a fair deal on the table.”