RMT, the rail union, has announced a series of 48 hour strikes in December and January after bosses failed to agree a settlement.
Members of rail staff will take strike action on the 13th, 14th, 16th, 17th December as well as January 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th.
Additionally, RMT has announced an overtime ban between 18th December and 2nd January – meaning members of the union will be taking industrial action for four weeks.
The union said yesterday that both the Rail Delivery Group and Network Rail had ‘refused’ to provide any offers.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “This latest round of strikes will show how important our members are to the running of this country and will send a clear message that we want a good deal on job security, pay and conditions for our people.
“We have been reasonable, but it is impossible to find a negotiated settlement when the dead hand of government is presiding over these talks.
“The employers are in disarray and saying different things to different people sometimes at the same time. This whole process has become a farce that only the new Secretary of State can resolve. When I meet him later this week, I will deliver that message.
“In the meantime, our message to the public is we are sorry to inconvenience you, but we urge you to direct your anger and frustration at the government and railway employers during this latest phase of action.
“We call upon all trades unionists in Britain to take a stand and fight for better pay and conditions in their respective industries. And we will seek to coordinate strike action and demonstrations where we can.
“Working people across our class need a pay rise and we are determined to win that for our members in RMT.”
Responses
Mick Lynch will eventually realise that his members are not indispensible. There are alternatives, cars, coaches, even electric bikes. Rail travel has blossomed in the last 30 years, now it’s in decline. Think what happened to freight traffic 60 odd years ago after a previous round of disruptive strikes.
So far the strikes have achieved nothing except damaging the rail industry and impoverishing his members. Mick Lynch thinks doing the same thing over again will give a different result – lunacy.
Deluded union boss, thinks he has been re-incarnated as Authur Scargill.
I can see the rail companies laying them all off, then re employing non union drivers, Lynch wants string up.
Someone is deluded
Didn’t the RMT recommend a Brexit vote? Without Brexit we wouldn’t be facing a recession and higher inflation and there would be more money to put on the table.
RMT – hammering nails into their own coffin.
Roads jammed with cars and near-empty trains prove that after the brief post-Covid lockdown bounceback in passenger numbers, both commuter traffic and leisure travel have slumped because of the railways’ terminal unreliability. Would-be passengers are sick of union gangsters, NR inefficiencies, TOCs’ poor management, high fares and timetables that promise unicorns but deliver sows’ ears.
Not again this means I shall not be able to go and se my friend again. Thus having to loose money again on non refundable concert tickets.