Union leaders have accused the government of “stoking” tensions over the rail dispute ahead of days of travel chaos due to train and subway strikes.
Services on London’s railways and underground will be paralyzed from Tuesday in the industry’s biggest strike in more than 30 consecutive years over wages, jobs and conditions.
Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union members at Network Rail (NR) and 13 train operators will strike on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, with only around one in five trains running and services disrupted in the days after the action.
The RMT and Unite will also stage a 24-hour strike on the London Underground which will cause major disruption to the Tube.
The TUC is calling on the Westminster government to take a positive role in the dispute, saying it was “raising tensions” with comments such as threatening to “revoke” workers’ legal rights.
The union said rail workers in Wales have reached agreements with rail operators on wages and job protections, while “significant negotiations” are taking place in Scotland.
The TUC said ministers in Westminster were insisting on cuts and planned to change the law so that employers can recruit agency workers during the industrial action, adding that it was reminiscent of the recent action taken by P&O.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The government has the power to help end this dispute, but instead of working in good faith to find a negotiated solution, ministers are inflaming tensions and trying to of pitting workers against workers.
“Instead of threatening to P&O these workers and break their rights, ministers should bring people around the table to help reach a fair deal.”
Ms O’Grady said no one takes the strike lightly, but maintained that railway staff have had “no other choice”.
“Many rail employees who will be affected the most, such as catering and cleaning services, have low and average incomes. It is insulting to ask them to take another pay cut in real terms when rail companies made £500m in profit during the pandemic.
“If these cuts go through, thousands of frontline and safety-critical jobs will be lost, and train services will also be at risk.
“We need a better vision for the future of rail than passengers crammed into unsafe trains like sardines.”
Rail is still on life support, with 25% fewer passengers and anything that drives more of them away risks killing services and jobs.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “Strikes should always be a last resort, not a first, so it is highly disappointing and premature for the RMT to go ahead with industrial action.
“The government committed £16bn, or £600 per household, to keep our railways running during the pandemic and ensure not a single worker lost their job.
“Rail is still on life support, with 25% fewer passengers and anything that drives more of them away risks killing services and jobs.
“Travel for millions more people is now an option, not a necessity. The strikes prevent our customers from choosing the train and they may never return.”
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the RMT had been “shooting” the strike for weeks and accused it of “punishing” millions of “innocent people” who will be affected by the strikes.
“Of course it is a reality that if we cannot modernize these railways, if we cannot achieve the kind of efficiency that will mean that they can work on behalf of the traveling public, then of course it is endangering the future of the railway itself.” he told the Sophy Ridge Sunday Show.
Rail Delivery Group chairman Steve Montgomery told the BBC talks would continue on Monday, adding: “We want to offer them something, but we have to make a reform.
“There is room for compromise. We have to work together, but we can work it out. This can be resolved.”
A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: “We are acutely aware of the cost of living pressures being felt by workers and families across the UK.
“All companies want to support their staff and the railway is no exception.
“But as an industry we have to change the way we work and improve productivity to help us pay our own bills: the alternatives of asking taxpayers to shoulder freight or passengers to pay higher fares when they too feel pressure just isn’t fair.”
The strikes will affect a number of events, including the Glastonbury festival and London concerts by Elton John and the Rolling Stones, as well as school exams.
Reference-www.standard.co.uk