Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Chronicle Live
Chronicle Live
National
Simon Meechan

Train strike leader Mick Lynch warns rail dispute could go on 'indefinitely'

Rail strike leader Mick Lynch has warned that he does not see an end to the ongoing dispute between the RMT union and rail operators.

Mr Lynch, the general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) called on the Government to stop refusing to get involved in talks between the union, Network Rail and train operators as he warned the dispute over pay, jobs and conditions could go on "indefinitely".

Mr Lynch has written to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, saying: “Your government has made the decision to use taxpayers’ money to bail out private train companies from being liable for revenue lost because of industrial action on the condition the same companies comply with government instructions to hold down pay, cut thousands of safety critical rail jobs, introduce driver only trains and close ticket offices across the network.”

Read more: Passengers urged not to use trains in North East due to strikes on two days this week

Mr Lynch - whose demands include at least a seven per cent pay rise for train staff - said the union had calculated that, including the previous and forthcoming industrial action, more than £120m of taxpayers’ money had been used to “bail out” private train companies to date.

He told the PA news agency: “Using taxpayers’ money to satisfy the anti-union agenda of the Tory party and seek to break the trade unions is shameful and means the dispute will be prolonged indefinitely as the train companies don’t lose a penny as a result of the industrial action and therefore have no incentive to settle the disputes.

“Instead of waging an ideological war against rail workers, millions of voters would rather that the Government allow for a fair negotiated settlement.”

Speaking to ITV, Mr Lynch - who was on the picket line at Euston Station in London with RMT and TSSA members who are on strike today - said "political interference" is also a barrier to solving the dispute. He has previously said Network Rail is threatening to impose compulsory redundancies and unsafe 50% cuts to maintenance work if staff do not withdraw from the strike.

Mr Lynch told Good Morning Britain the union is speaking with Network Rail and train companies but “the gap between us is still there”.

“We’ve got to find a way to bridge that but I fear that because of the political interference that’s happening with the public transport and the Treasury, we’re not able to do that,” he said.

Mick Lynch has warned the train strike dispute could go on 'indefinitely' (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

“We’ve also got a dispute tomorrow with London Underground – which is more of the same that the funding from the railway has been cut and that means an attack on rail workers across the land and I think many workers are suffering from that at this moment.

“They’re not getting a square deal but we’ll keep working with the companies to get a negotiated settlement and as soon as we can do that, will put it to our members and hopefully we can get the railway back providing service the that public needs.”

He later added: “We will work those problems through but what we need is the management to have the ability to negotiate and I think this has been has been partially caught up in the Tory leadership election or selection process that they’re going through and I think because those candidates have both taken a turn to the hard right in this country, it’s very difficult to find the ability to create a settlement.”

Outside Euston station, Mr Lynch accused Transport Secretary Grant Shapps of trying to “flex his right-wing muscles” to get a job under Conservative leadership candidates Rishi Sunak or Liz Truss, adding: "What I think you’re seeing is a man who’s worried about his future. He’s got to try and flex his right-wing muscles in front of a parade of two really right-wing people who are going to be his boss.

“So I don’t know what Grant Shapps is up to. I don’t think the employers really know what he’s up to. And I don’t think the officials at the Department for Transport know what he’s up to.

“Last week he threatened to make everyone redundant on the railway by issuing letters called Section 188 letters. I think he’s lost the plot slightly and he needs to get back on track and enable a settlement to this dispute.”

Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail, said it is not clear to him "what they're striking for". He said the blame falls on the RMT union.

Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain just after RMT boss Mick Lynch, Mr Haines said the situation “absolutely is frustrating”.

“We’ve been talking for over 18 months. We started these talks actually with Mick’s predecessor and so there’s no lack of readiness to talk. The issue is there are some fundamental disagreements,” Mr Haines said.

“Where I have a fundamental disagreement is that I don’t think colleagues are clear on what they’re striking for now,” he continued.

“Mick mentioned pensions – that’s not an issue for Network Rail. He mentioned job security – we’ve given a guarantee of a job for every single person in Network Rail who wants a job affected by our proposals.

“Now we’ve done our very best to meet those sort of issues but the common factor here is the RMT; it’s not the Government.

“There are strikes on TfL, there are what, 13-14 train operators? Network Rail? All of those issues have been getting trapped together and I think many people striking are not clear. That’s why we think the way to solve this is to put our offer, a very decent fair offer, to a referendum of RMT members. My staff, and I think that’s the way to solve this.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “Yet again, for the sixth time since June, union leaders are opting to inflict misery and disrupt the day-to-day lives of millions instead of working with industry to agree a deal that will bring our railways into the 21st century.

“Today, thousands of A-level students across the country, many of whom have spent the majority of their college years studying at home due to the pandemic, are now being denied the chance to celebrate their hard work and dedication face to face with peers and teachers.

“It’s clear strikes are not the powerful tool they once were and union chiefs are no longer able to bring the country to a standstill as, unlike them, the world has changed and people simply work from home. All these strikes are doing is hurting those people the unions claim to represent, many of whom will again be out of pocket and forced to miss a day’s work.

“We urge union bosses to do the right thing by their members and let them have their say on Network Rail’s very fair deal, which will deliver the reforms our rail system urgently needs. It’s time to get off the picket lines and back around the negotiating table – the future of our railway depends on it.”

The RMT and TSSA strikes today mean only around one in five trains are running in the UK. The RMT is set to strike again on Saturday August 20.

Read next:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.