Train strikes – live: RMT union boss Mick Lynch warns rail action could last months
Four in five trains have been cancelled today as a result of a rail strike
Troov
Related: Mick Lynch says government is ‘doing nothing’ about £2bn cuts to railway system
Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for weekly expert advice and money-saving discounts
Get Simon Calder’s Travel email
A generation of passengers will be put off from using trains permanently because of ongoing strikes, ministers are said to fear, as thousands of rail workers return to the picket line for a five-day walkout.
Millions of rail passengers will face fresh travel disruption in the coming days as the dispute over pay, jobs and conditions continues.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 14 train operators will stage two 48-hour walkouts from Tuesday and Friday, while drivers in the Aslef union will strike on Thursday.
Picket lines will again be mounted outside railway stations across the country in a repeat of what became a familiar sight last year.
Passengers, including those returning to work after the festive break, are being warned to expect “significant disruption” as only a limited number of trains will run.
But the government is now said to fear that millions of passengers will shun the railway altogether because of the rolling industrial action.
A government source told The Times: “This is an act of self-harm – a generation of passengers will just write off the railways. We’re talking about permanent scarring.”
Watch: Mick Lynch accuses government of 'torpedoing' rail strike talks before Christmas
Mick Lynch accuses government of 'torpedoing' rail strike talks before Christmas
Emily Atkinson3 January 2023 09:45
We need to get the railways working again, says Mick Lynch
The railway is a “vital part of the economy” that needs to get back up and running, a union leader said after claims that passengers could be alienated from using trains by strike action.
Asked about reports in The Times newspaper that ministers fear passengers will turn their backs on rail, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “We need to get the railways back working.
“The railways are a vital part of the economy and they are a vital part of the solution to the environmental crisis we have got.”
He added: “So we need to get the railways working, but what we need is a safe railway, we need a railway that is properly staffed, a railway that is properly funded, and is affordable for the public.”
Emily Atkinson3 January 2023 09:35
Watch: Mick Lynch accuses Tory minister of ‘not telling the truth’ about rail strike talks
Mick Lynch accuses Tory minister of 'not telling the truth' about rail strike talks
Emily Atkinson3 January 2023 09:25
Fresh round of strike negotiations to come next week, says Harper
More negotiations over the rail strikes will take place next week, the transport secretary has said.
Asked about talks between the unions and employers, Mark Harper told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “First of all, the deal is not going to be done in TV studios, it is going to be done around a negotiating table between the trade unions, the train operating companies that run the trains, and Network Rail that run the track and the signalling.
“We have got to get people back around the table.”
He added: “We had some good meetings before Christmas, we have got some more meetings scheduled next week.
“I would, frankly, rather they were taking place this week rather than the strikes happening, but that was a matter for the unions.
“It is RMT and Aslef that have scheduled strikes for this week; I would rather they were sat around the negotiating table.”
Emily Atkinson3 January 2023 09:15
Watch: Mick Lynch says government is ‘doing nothing’ about £2bn cuts to railway system
The Independent’s Simon Calder speaks to RMT secretary general Mick Lynch on the picket line outside London Euston station:
Mick Lynch says government is ‘doing nothing’ about £2bn cuts to railway system
Emily Atkinson3 January 2023 09:05
Mick Lynch accuses Tory minister of lying about move to ‘torpedo’ rail strike talks
Rail union boss Mick Lynch has accused transport secretary Mark Harper of “not telling the truth” about the negotiations aimed at ending train strikes, as five days of fresh industrial action begins.
The Tory cabinet minister denied claims by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) leader that the government had blocked a deal before Christmas – insisting it “absolutely isn’t true”.
But Mr Lynch said Mr Harper’s department had intervened by inserting “eight or nine” conditions – including driver-only trains – to thwart a settlement over pay and conditions.
Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports:
Emily Atkinson3 January 2023 08:55
No fresh proposals from government to rail unions, says Lynch
RMT secretary-general Mick Lynch says that “the government and the companies have not put any fresh proposals to us.”
“They know what needs to be done to move towards a settlement, how to work through the problems and get to some documentation that we can all support, but that’s not happened so far,” he told the PA news agency from an RMT picket line outside London Euston station.
“We’re hoping in the next few days that they will come to us and propose more meetings and more sessions of negotiation but at the moment that’s simply not there.
“The government has let these strikes go ahead and that’s unfortunate.”
Emily Atkinson3 January 2023 08:45
No ‘bottomless pit of taxpayer money’ for negotiations, says Harper
Transport Secretary Mark Harper says there isn’t a “bottomless pit of taxpayer money” when it comes to negotiating with unions.
“I don’t blame unions for wanting more money but it has to be balanced, for commuters and taxpayers,” he told LBC this morning.
Emily Atkinson3 January 2023 08:35
Mick Lynch accuses Mark Harper of ‘simply not telling whole truth’
The RMT secretary-general has claimed that the transport secretary is “not telling the truth” after he denied the government is “blocking a settlement” with union chiefs.
“He’s not telling you the truth,” Mick Lynch told Sky News.
“We had a document with the train operating companies that did not include driver-only operation. It was taken away for approval in Whitehall at the DfT and they inserted about eight or nine bullet points that completely undermined the negotiations.
“That was a direct intervention from government ministers. We know that to be true.
“If he’s saying that didn’t happen, he’s simply not telling you the whole truth,” Mr Lynch said.
Emily Atkinson3 January 2023 08:25
Transport secretary denies that ‘ministers intervened in December strike negotiations’
The transport secretary has denied a claim that ministers intervened in rail strike negotiations in December to stop a deal.
Asked about the claims, Mark Harper told Sky News: “That absolutely isn’t true.
“In fact, since I became Transport Secretary a couple of month ago I met all the union leaders, I tried to change the tone of the discussions and I said that ministers would help facilitate the trade unions and the employers, that is the train operating companies and Network Rail, getting around the table.”
He later added: “There is a fair and reasonable pay offer on the table. There is not a bottomless pit of taxpayers’ money here.
“Taxpayers have put a huge amount of investment into the rail industry over the last few years when it was hit with a huge impact from the pandemic when people weren’t travelling.
“I think you have got to have an offer that is both fair to the people working in the industry but that is also fair to the taxpayer that is picking up the tab.”
Emily Atkinson3 January 2023 08:15
