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RMT members working for 14 train companies will stage a fresh strike on June 2 over school half term in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the union has announced.
The widespread disruption will see 20,000 railway workers in catering, train managers and station staff all take action, affecting train services across the country.
Members of fellow train drivers union Aslef have already announced plans to strike on May 31 and June 3 – the day of the FA Cup final, sparking fears of chaos as fans from the north attempt to reach the capital for Manchester United vs Manchester City.
RMT’s announcement comes on the same day that the National Education Union announced that teachers will hold fresh strikes in July if their long-running dispute over pay has not been resolved by mid-June.
The RMT said that it found the Rail Delivery Group’s ‘previous offer and associated conditions unacceptable and despite contact between the parties since the strike on 13 May.’
RMT members working for 14 train companies will stage a fresh strike on June 2 in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the union has announced. Pictured: RMT leader Mick Lynch joins members on the picket line outside Euston on May 13
Mr Lynch (pictured during strike action on May 1) said that ‘ministers cannot just push this dispute away’
It comes on the same day that the National Education Union announced that teachers will hold fresh strikes in July if their long-running dispute over pay has not been resolved by mid June. Pictured: Dr Mary Bousted, National Education Union Joint General Secretary
The union’s general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘The government is once again not allowing the Rail Delivery Group to make an improved offer that we can consider.
‘Therefore, we have to pursue our industrial campaign to win a negotiated settlement on jobs, pay and conditions. Ministers cannot just wish this dispute away.
‘They underestimate the strength of feeling our members who have just given us a new 6-month strike mandate, continue to support the campaign and the action and are determined to see this through until we get an acceptable resolution.
‘The government now needs to unlock the RDG and allow them to make an offer that can be put to a referendum of our members.’
The 14 operators involved in RMT’s disputes have been Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express, Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains, GTR (including Gatwick Express).
It comes as RMT workers voted to strike for another six months earlier this month, paving the way for a second ‘summer of discontent’ on the railways. Aslef has also vowed to carry on striking, meaning holidaymakers and commuters face further chaos.
In response to the latest action, a spokesman for RDG said: ‘In recent discussions with the RMT, we have continued to stand by the fair, industry-level dispute resolution proposal agreed line by line with their negotiating team, which would have resolved this dispute and given our lowest-paid staff a rise of up to 13%.
‘By calling more strike action, the RMT leadership have chosen to prolong this dispute without ever giving their members a chance to have a say on their own offer.
RMT’s fresh strike will come on the weekend of the FA Cup final – with train drivers from Aslef targeting the actual day of the June 3 match
RMT members last took the picket lines on Saturday in a move that was condemned, even by its own workers, due to it coinciding with the Eurovision Song Contest (pictured) in Liverpool
‘Instead, they will be subject to yet more lost pay through industrial action, customers will suffer more disruption, and the industry will continue to suffer huge damage at a time when the railway is taking more than its fair share from taxpayers to keep trains running post-Covid.
‘We remain open and willing to engage in national-level talks so that we can secure a pay rise for our people and the long-term future of an industry vital to Britain’s economy.’
RMT members last took the picket lines on Saturday in a move that was condemned, even by its own workers, due to it coinciding with the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool.
Now, their latest strike will come over school half term – and on the same weekend as the FA Cup final.
In a rare bit of relief for Brits today, a planned strike by workers on London’s Elizabeth Line was suspended.
Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) were due to walk out on May 24 in a dispute over pay.
The union said it had received a revised pay proposal from Rail for London Infrastructure and will now consult members.
TSSA interim organising director Mel Taylor said: ‘We have had a very constructive meeting and as a result TSSA has agreed to suspend the strike action planned on May 24.
‘This will enable our teams to fully digest the changes and allow for further consultation and discussion over the coming days. ‘We certainly do not take strike action lightly, but we have made this progress as a result of the action we have taken and planned to take.
‘Elizabeth Line staff work weekends, nights and even Christmas Day. They are multi-skilled and operate the world’s only fully digital railway, but many earn significantly less than the salary paid to other Transport for London staff in similar roles.
‘That is clearly not an acceptable or sustainable position and it looks as though the company is waking up to the fact.’
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