Rail workers at the RMT union have said that they will strike again on July 27, while train drivers associated with the Aslef union will walk out on July 30.
The RMT strike is part of the ongoing dispute with rail bosses over pay, redundancies, and conditions, while Aslef has been in talks over wage increases to help ease the impact of inflation, which have broken down.
Inflation is currently at 9.1 per cent and is forecast to reach 11 per cent by the end of 2022.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that Network Rail’s latest offer would constitute a pay cut in real terms and would not address job security and salaries.
He also suggested that the row would last for “as long as it takes, until we get a negotiated settlement.”
RMT has already staged three days of strikes in June as part of the dispute, which led to major disruption.
Aslef’s general secretary Mick Whelan, said that its members did not “want to go on strike”, but they had been “forced unto this position by the train companies, driven by the Tory government.”
Whelan added: “We don't want to inconvenience passengers - not least because our friends and families use public transport, too, and we believe in building trust in the railways in Britain - and we don't want to lose money by going on strike.”
The July 30 strike falls on a Saturday and coincides with the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, and the first day of the season in the English Football League.
With disruption therefore likely to affect thousands, the government has hit out at the union, with transport secretary Grant Shapps labelling the action “destructive”, with the deliberate intention to “cause as much misery as possible.”
Shapps said: “It's incredibly disappointing that, just three days after their ballots closed, Aslef bosses have already opted for destructive strike action, instead of engaging in constructive talks.
“Not only that but, by cynically orchestrating strike dates around the Commonwealth Games, it's clear union bosses are determined to cause as much misery as possible and derail an event the whole country is looking forward to.”
The government has warned employers against major salary hikes to avoid pushing inflation higher and embroiling the country in an “inflationary spiral”, but this approach has drawn criticism from Whelan.
He said that “wages are chasing prices, not putting them up” and that “excess profiteering” was responsible for driving inflation.
“The government isn’t asking companies to cut profits or dividend payments to help manage inflation,” Whelan highlighted.
Elsewhere, the Rail Delivery Group said that the lost revenue from strike days would also make it harder to justify future pay increases, as well as causing “misery, frustration and anger for millions” of people.
It said: “We want to give our people an increase in pay but asking taxpayers to shoulder even more of the burden when they have already contributed £600 per household during the pandemic or asking passengers to fund it by paying more for their tickets, isn't fair or sustainable.”
Photo by Fraser Cottrell on Unsplash
