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British rail unions and train operators held last-ditch talks on Monday aimed at avoiding pre-Christmas strikes, after the rejection of a weekend pay offer deepened the long-running dispute.
The RMT met train companies less than 24 hours after it rejected an improved pay offer that was contingent on sweeping reforms that the UK’s largest rail trade union said would leave the railways “understaffed”.
The smaller TSSA union, which represents travel and transport workers, rejected a similar offer on Sunday and has also held new talks with the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators.
RMT members began their industrial action on the rail network in June, but hundreds of thousands of workers across the public and private sector are now following suit. Nurses, postal workers and university lecturers are set to strike in the run-up to Christmas; teachers and junior doctors are being balloted on industrial action; and ambulance workers are poised to announce dates for walkouts.
While the offer from the train companies appeared to have deepened the dispute, there was some hope that the worst impact of the strikes could be avoided if unions were able to reach a deal in a separate clash with Network Rail, which owns and operates the UK’s rail tracks and infrastructure.
Union executives were meeting on Monday to discuss the Network Rail offer, and the disruption next week could be reduced were the unions to agree to put the body’s deal to their members and suspend the strikes.
Network Rail has offered a 5 per cent pay rise this year and 4 per cent in 2022, and a guarantee of no compulsory job losses until January 2025, but is also demanding significant changes to working practices in return.
The first of four 48-hour strikes across Network Rail and 14 train operating companies is due to start on December 13. Further two-day strikes are due on December 16-17, January 3-4 and January 6-7.
Train companies and Network Rail said any deal would need to be reached by the end of Monday to avoid disruption next week since they draw up their timetables and roster crew well in advance.
The offers to unions from the RDG included a 4 per cent pay rise for each of 2021 and 2022 as well as well as guarantees on no compulsory redundancies until April 2024.
But both the RMT and TSSA said the offers were tied to unacceptable changes to the running of the railways, including the mass closure of ticket offices and a widespread move to “driver-only operation” — where drivers instead of guards operate the doors on all carriages.
Union executives said these proposed changes to conductors’ responsibilities were particularly incendiary and had been included at the last moment.
While driver-operated doors are already in place across 45 per cent of the rail network, unions have historically fought fiercely against the changes, which were at the heart of a damaging year-long battle with Southern Rail in 2016 and 2017.
Christian Wolmar, a rail analyst and historian, said putting “a whole series of conditions” on the pay offer was a mistake. “Pay and productivity should be kept apart,” he said.
One union executive said the RDG negotiators had appeared “embarrassed” at parts of the deal, which had no chance of being accepted.
Ministers and the rail industry argue that they need to bring in far-reaching changes to working practices to help fill a financial black hole caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and a shift to remote working.
The government spent £13.3bn to support the railways in the year to March 2022, figures released last week show.
Downing Street said: “We continue to urge the RMT to think again. There is still time.
“We think it’s the right offer. It’s a significant improvement on what they were offered before”.
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