Union leaders are to blame for rail strikes

The RMT is ideologically intent on pressing ahead with festive disruption. I urge them to back our deal

This year, many families may have no choice but to alter their plans and have a virtual Christmas again. This isn’t due to a new public health pandemic, but because of rail strikes, planned by the RMT union to cause misery during the festive period.

Thousands of people are currently rearranging or cancelling holiday plans due to a month of rail disruption, starting this week. Businesses, too, will face reduced sales during what, for many, should be their busiest period.

And winter pressures on our NHS will be further exacerbated as NHS staff will have difficulty getting to work, and members of the public will struggle to keep medical appointments.

This dire situation is not inevitable. Today, RMT union members have a chance to end it. The Government has worked hard to ensure that there is a fair two-year pay deal on the table, one that is not only more generous than pay deals across the private sector, but also comes with a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.

RMT union leaders have come out against this deal and remain ideologically intent on pressing ahead with strikes. The very future of our rail industry is too important to be derailed by ideological strike action. The current railway model is untenable, with a revenue gap of up to £175 million each month due to a 20 per cent drop in passenger numbers since the pandemic. Taxpayers – many of whom do not use the railways – have so far footed the bill, to the tune of £31billion in financial support over the past two years. But with difficult spending decisions being made across the economy, it’s simply not fair to continue subsidising the railways with taxpayers’ money to this extent.

Rather than cling onto an outdated railway model, I want to fix it. This pay deal will unlock essential reforms to modernise our railways. It will mean a reliable seven-day a week service that no longer relies on drivers volunteering for shifts. Modern track maintenance will lead to fewer delays, and better safety for workers. And we’ll deploy staff more efficiently: away from empty ticket offices and onto platforms and station floors to help passengers.

These reforms will bear down on spiralling costs and find new ways to generate revenue. Only then can the rail industry wean itself off the public purse and become a passengerfocused, reliable service. By contrast, the RMT union’s strike action will put at risk the annual Christmas rail-maintenance programme, essential for the railway to operate for the year ahead, further damaging their industry.

Unsurprisingly, the public are fed up with this dispute. A recent Yougov poll shows a clear majority against strikes in December and January. It’s why the Prime Minister has rightly promised to protect hardworking families from the effects of future industrial action. Next year, we will progress legislation that will require minimum-service levels on strike days.

I want this dispute to end as soon as possible. We have agreed to continue our efforts to reach a deal, whilst remaining fair to the taxpayer.

In the first few weeks of this new Government being in office, we have demonstrated that we are willing to be reasonable – to discuss matters with union leaders face to face and to try and facilitate a resolution to this dispute by enabling a new and improved pay offer to be made by the employers.

It’s precisely because we know that the public are worried about the impact of these strikes on their day-today lives that we have worked hard over the past few weeks to resolve it.

The Government has played its part, I now urge the unions to do the same – by backing this deal and calling off their strikes.

This railway model is untenable, with a revenue gap of up to £175m each month. Taxpayers are footing the bill