Don’t do yourselves out of a job, Shapps tells workers

THE Transport Secretary urged rail workers yesterday not to take part in mass walkouts next week with the stark warning that they ‘risk striking themselves out of a job’.

Grant Shapps accused unions of performing ‘an incredible act of self-harm’ as the Government dialled up its rhetoric ahead of the biggest walkouts in a generation.

He suggested the industrial action will only increase the numbers of workers who have given up commuting and are working from home.

Union bosses repsonded by accusing Mr Shapps of deploying ‘bully boy tactics’. Industrial action by 40,000 members of the RMT union will bring six days of chaos to Britain’s railways next week.

Mr Shapps said at a rail depot in north London yesterday: ‘I appeal directly to rail workers, who I think are less militant than their union leaders. Don’t risk striking. Don’t risk the industry and your future. Don’t risk striking yourselves out of a job.

‘ Don’t pitch yourselves against the public. Let’s fix this situation and get back to building a better railway.’Mr Shapps also echoed the concerns of Network Rail bosses about the risk that the strikes will harm the railways in the long term just as passengers numbers rebound after the pandemic.

‘These strikes are not only a bid to derail reforms that are critical to the network’s future, and designed to inflict damage at the worst possible time, they are also an incredible act of self-harm by the union leadership,’ he said.

‘Make no mistake, unlike the past 25 years, when rising passenger demand year after year was taken for granted, today the railway is in a fight.’ Mr Shapps said that the railway was ‘ not only competing against other forms of public and private transport… It’s in a battle with Zoom, Teams and remote working. In case the unions haven’t noticed, the world has changed.

‘Many commuters, who three years ago had no alternative but to take the train, today have the option of not travelling at all. Wave them goodbye, and it will endanger the jobs of thousands of rail workers.’

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch accused Mr Shapps of threatening rail workers ‘livelihoods and their right to strike’ through his comments. He said the speech will make RMT members even more fiercely determined to win this dispute’.

The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association, which will ballot 6,000 members later this month over separate rail strikes, said Mr Shapps’ comments ‘looked very much like threats and intimidation instead of constructive dialogue’.

The RMT has asked for a pay rise in line with the RPI rate of inflation, which is currently 11.1 per cent, along with a no compulsory redundancies guarantee.

The walkout includes members at Network Rail and 13 train operators, many of which have told

customers not to travel unless essential. Sources at the union said it remains optimistic a deal can be reached – but an agreement before next week’s walkouts is growing increasingly unlikely.

Mr Shapps has promised season ticket holders would be paid ‘full compensation on strike days’, and he had ‘moved to help make that an automatic process’.

He also said the Government plans to introduce legislation to enable the use of agency workers ‘if the strike drags on’. Downing Street said the legislation would take ‘ weeks rather than months’ to introduce.

■ The Unite union warned yesterday of industrial action to prevent cuts to London’s bus network. The union called for guarantees that jobs will not be lost under a consultation on cuts to bus routes and take-home pay will not fall.

General secretary Sharon Graham said: ‘The option of Unite taking industrial action to protect our members is fully on the table.’