Over 50,000 railway workers will walkout as part of three days of national strike action later this month, in the biggest dispute on the network since 1989.
The strike has been criticised by both the Prime Minister and Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party.
The union will shut down the country’s railway network on 21st, 23rd and 25th June, citing the inability of the rail employers to come to a negotiated settlement with RMT.
The union says Network Rail and the train operating companies have subjected their staff to multiyear pay freezes and plan to cut thousands of jobs which will make the railways unsafe.
Despite intense talks with the rail bosses, RMT has not been able to secure a pay proposal nor a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.
In a separate dispute over pensions and job losses, London Underground RMT members will take strike action on June 21st.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Railway workers have been treated appallingly and despite our best efforts in negotiations, the rail industry with the support of the government has failed to take their concerns seriously.
“We have a cost-of-living crisis, and it is unacceptable for railway workers to either lose their jobs or face another year of a pay freeze when inflation is at 11.1pc and rising.
“Our union will now embark on a sustained campaign of industrial action which will shut down the railway system.
“Rail companies are making at least £500m a year in profits, whilst fat cat rail bosses have been paid millions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This unfairness is fuelling our members anger and their determination to win a fair settlement.
“RMT is open to meaningful negotiations with rail bosses and ministers, but they will need to come up with new proposals to prevent months of disruption on our railways.”
Mr Lynch told the BBC that Network Rail had told union reps they were planning to cut 3000 maintenance jobs out of 11,000, which he said would pose safety risks. But Network Rail, which as set up a dedicated industrial action page, insists no proposals were on the table, talks were under way about modernising maintenance and how compulsory redundancies could be avoided. It rejected claims it would do anything to compromise safety.
The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has described the strike plans described the planned strike as “reckless and wanton”.
A spokesperson for Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Part,y has also commented that the Labour Party has “been clear in the position that the strikes shouldn’t go ahead.
“Nobody wants to see industrial action that is disruptive.”
• For information on how the strikes may affect your journey visit National Rail or your train operating companies’ website
• Northern Railways has information on the strike on their website here: www.northernrailway.co.uk – which should have the latest news of Northern services
THE STRIKE AGENDA
• On June 21st, over 50,000 railway workers will walk out. This includes Network Rail, 13 train operating companies and London Underground
• On June 23rd and 25th, up to 40,000 workers will walk out. This includes Network Rail and 13 train operating companies.
The action by RMT will affect the national railway network for the entire week where the three days of action have been called.