Staggered strikes could ramp up chaos on trains

Three rail unions poised to stage walkouts on consecutive days, inflicting maximum disruption

RAIL chiefs are bracing for trade unions to intensify their campaign of industrial action later this month, leaving as few as one in 10 trains running on strike days.

Senior industry figures fear the rail sector’s three main unions will stage their walkouts on consecutive days.

The tactic would have the effect of prolonging strike action while minimising the loss of wages for their members on strike days.

Bosses are now preparing for the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT), Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) and Aslef, the drivers’ union, to stagger strikes and inflict maximum disruption on passengers.

Even if there are gaps between strikes, passengers face reduced service on so-called “shoulder days”, when only 60pc of trains typically run.

Aslef has mostly stayed out of nationwide strike action so far, but rail insiders are wary of the drivers’ union stepping up its campaign in the coming weeks.

Its walkouts are particularly potent as contingency plans do not allow for the drafting in of emergency train drivers to any significant degree. Sources pointed to yesterday’s walkout by Aslef on the Greater Anglia line that left just one in 10 trains operating as an example of the level of disruption that could be caused nationwide.

Talks between operators and representatives from Aslef are due to continue this week.

TSSA members at Network Rail are being balloted for strike action, while the union’s workforce at Avanti West Coast voted in favour of industrial action on Wednesday.

Manuel Cortes, the TSSA general secretary, has previously raised the spectre of “coordinated industrial action” in response to Network Rail cuts.

Talks in the rail industry will be put on hold this week as thousands of union activists descend on Birmingham for the RMT annual general meeting.

Mick Lynch, the general secretary, and other members of its executive are formally suspended from office during the annual meeting, meaning officials are unable to continue discussions to resolve the dispute.

Talks to find a breakthrough are scheduled to restart on July 11.

The union, which must give at least 14 days’ notice of any future strike action, has a mandate from its members to strike across 13 operators and on the London Underground as well as at Network Rail.

The RMT last week began compromising on changes to the working practices of thousands of maintenance workers, talks insiders said.

Progress has also been made with respect to the number of job cuts needed, but compulsory redundancies have not been taken off the table, they added.

Eddie Dempsey, senior assistant general secretary at the RMT, signalled a more conciliatory approach on Friday, saying: “We’ve told people we’re not in any rush [to go on strike].

“I think we’ve made a pretty emphatic point with the strike action we put on.

“We’re in no rush to run into the boardroom and name further action.” Mr Dempsey added that discussions between union leaders and rail chiefs this week have been “fairly intense”.

Network Rail and the operators are standing firm by refusing to discuss pay rises beyond the 3pc offered to the rest of the public sector workers until the rail union leaders agree to cost-saving measures.

Tim Shoveller, the lead negotiator for Network Rail, said he was “cautiously optimistic” an agreement would be reached with the RMT.

But union negotiators have faced accusations of backtracking in recent weeks.

Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, told The Telegraph last month: “We appeared to be making really, really good progress on maintenance productivity.

“At eight o’clock it was a big thumbs up [moment]. By nine o’clock, they’d walked away. They literally flipped.

“It came down again, to their readiness to sell reasonable changes [to the RMT national executive].”