Get back on track! Ministers urged to sort out rail strikes
MINISTERS were under mounting pressure last night to solve the rail strikes crisis as analysis showed walkouts have blown a £600million hole in the economy since summer.
It comes ahead of another week of chaos on the railways after the RMT union said three 24-hour strikes over six days will go ahead.
Only around a fifth of services will run tomorrow, Monday and Wednesday, bringing the tally of national strikes orchestrated by the RMT to 11 since July.
Trains on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday could also be down by a quarter due to the knock-on effects.
And London Underground staff will strike on Thursday, crippling the capital’s transport network for the sixth time this year.
The strikes will hit families attending bonfire night celebrations, sports fans during a weekend jam-packed with football fixtures and rural areas will be completely cut off. With union barons threatening to cause chaos until next summer in the absence of a deal, ministers are facing calls to get tougher to stop further economic damage amid a looming recession.
On Wednesday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he was ‘very happy’ to meet rail union bosses and ‘listen to their concerns’.
But he said he will not intervene and that talks over pay and job security will remain between the unions and
employers, which are Network Rail and 14 train companies covering most of England.
However, he is facing calls to look at banning national strikes on the railways altogether on the grounds that they are a part of ‘ critical national infrastructure’.
Tory MPs said he should look at fast-tracking legislation forcing unions to ensure a number of trains run on strike days. The ‘minimum services’ legislation, which several
European countries already have, was introduced to Parliament last month but won’t be in force until next year.
It is expected to result in at least 20 per cent of services having to run on most routes during walkouts, but could be as high as 40 per cent.
Just 11 per cent of trains ran when the RMT and Aslef unions joined forces to strike last month, with many rural areas completely cut off.
Tory MP Greg Smith, who
sits on the Commons transport committee, said: ‘We have to crack on and deliver the minimum service legislation... And union bosses have to stop gambling with the future of the railways by driving so many people away.’
It came as analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research think-tank found the walkouts have cost businesses and the economy nearly £600million since July, when next week’s dates are
‘Stop gambling with the future’
‘We must all work together’
included. And there are growing fears that union barons will target Christmas and New Year when they announce the next strikes.
A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘Our railways urgently need to modernise and we must all work together to make this happen...
‘The Transport Secretary has made clear his intention to meet with unions to listen to their concerns.
‘We urge them to reconsider divisive action.’