Second day of rail strikes start after talks collapse in acrimony
A second day of strike action is underway on Thursday after talks to avert the stoppage collapsed in rancour on Wednesday night.
Millions of passengers face disruption to train services across Britain as 40,000 RMT members working for Network Rail and 13 train operating companies stage their second strike in a week.
Just one in five trains will run on Thursday, with services only running between 7.30am and 6.30pm. Trains will mostly be restricted to main lines, with around half of the network closed. Passengers are being asked to travel only if necessary.
The government plans to change the law – repealing “burdensome” legal restrictions – to enable businesses to supply temporary agency workers to cover for staff on strike during industrial action. Network Rail welcomed the move but Labour and trade unions condemned it as a “recipe for disaster”.
Last night, the head of the RMT union, Mick Lynch, hit out at the transport secretary, Grant Shapps, for “wrecking negotiations by not allowing Network Rail to withdraw their letter threatening redundancy for 2,900 of our members” in the dispute over pay, working conditions and proposed “modernisation” plans. Shapps said the RMT claim was “a total lie”. Network Rail said the union had walked away from talks.
Separately, the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association announced that its members at Merseyrail had accepted a 7.1% pay offer.
Tim Shoveller, managing director of the north west and central region at Network Rail, said a similar deal with the RMT was “very unlikely”. “We currently have an offer that totals 3% on the table and we’re keen to improve that, but that’s subject to affordability,” he told BBC radio 4’s Today programme on Thursday.
He said the difference between the 3% and
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