Around 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime, and Transport (RMT) are expected to walk out for 24 hours in a dispute over pay and conditions on Wednesday, the 27th of July.

Union leaders announced the upcoming strike following their rejection of a recent offer from Network Rail, which they described as “paltry”. The latter offered a 4% pay rise for the whole of 2022, followed by a possible 4% in 2023 under the condition that workers would accept the changes in working conditions.

The state-owned company’s proposition received a cold welcome from the RMT, who considered it an “attack on their terms and conditions”. The union argued it has not yet received any guarantees or pay offers over job losses from Network Rail.

RMT’s general secretary, Mick Lynch criticised what he called “stubborn train operating companies” for not making an increased pay offer. “Strike action is the only course open to us to make both the rail industry and government understand that this dispute will continue for as long as it takes until we get a negotiated settlement”, – he warned. 

“The offer from Network Rail represents a real-term pay cut for our members, and the paltry sum is conditional on RMT members agreeing to drastic changes in their working lives”, – he added.

“We have been clear that we can only fund an increase from our own budgets, and the only way we can afford that is by modernising working practices”, – Network Rail’s chief executive Andrew Haines replied. He referred to the strikes as “incredibly frustrating”. 

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group representing train companies argued that the strikes “will cause more misery for millions” and worsen the industry’s finances.

The union’s requests to negotiate directly with the government have been rejected so far. 

Image: British Poles

Author: Sébastien Meuwissen