National rail strike to go ahead this month in ongoing dispute over pay, RMT announces

13 July 2022, 14:57 | Updated: 13 July 2022, 15:43

A fresh rail strike will go ahead on July 27 in the dispute about pay, jobs and conditions, the RMT has said.

Workers at rail operators and Network Rail will take part in the action just weeks after a series of disruptive strikes earlier this year.

It comes after fears of a summer of discontent seeing Brits battle with soaring inflation outstripping pay and resulting industrial action - and the RMT is due to speak to other unions that have mandates to go on strike, raising the prospect of co-ordinated action.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The offer from Network Rail represents a real terms pay cut for our members and the paltry sum is conditional on RMT members agreeing to drastic changes in their working lives.

"We have made progress on compulsory redundancies, but Network Rail are still seeking to make our members poorer when we have won in some cases double what they are offering, with other rail operators.

"The train operating companies remain stubborn and are refusing to make any new offer which deals with job security and pay.

"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.

Read more: More travel chaos expected as train drivers vote to strike over pay dispute

"The public who will be inconvenienced by our strike action need to understand that it is the Government's shackling of Network Rail and the TOCs that means the rail network will be shut down for 24 hours."

This new strike will see RMT's members at train firms and Network Rail walk out for 24 hours on July 27, after the union’s bosses rejected a new 4% pay rise backdated to January.

It would have provided another 2% rise next year and the same again if “modernisation milestones” were hit.

The RMT called it "paltry" and said it had not been offered a pay offer or guarantees about job losses from train companies.

Members of the Aslef union, which represents drivers across eight train companies, have already voted overwhelmingly to walk out over pay.

General secretary Mick Whelan said strikes could take place in the coming weeks if talks stall, but said strikes are only a last resort.

Workers at the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association [TSSA] also backed action over pay, job security and conditions.

More than 2,500 TSSA members at Network Rail work in areas including engineering, maintenance and control roles voted for it.

The RMT will talk to unions that have a mandate for strike action - amid fears of growing industrial action in the face of pay demands, driven by inflation and the economic crisis.

There has been concern for the possibility of a mass, nationwide general strike causing severe disruption.

The RMT previously took part in three days of strikes at the end of June, leaving about a fifth of all rail services running and half of the lines closing down.

The Government has told unions to resolve their differences with train companies and accept that the nature of rail travel is changing, with more people working from home instead of commuting leading to lower revenues than before the Covid pandemic's lockdowns.