Shapps criticises metro mayors for not condemning rail strikes
TRANSPORT SECRETARY Grant Shapps has accused the region’s metro mayors of being found wanting over rail strikes.
The Rail Maritime and Transport (RMT), Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite unions are taking industrial action today and on Saturday over pay and working conditions.
Writing in The Yorkshire Post today, Grant Shapps rounded on West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard for not condemning the strikes.
He said: “They will not condemn the strike action, nor stand up for the millions that will face the consequences of our railways grinding to a halt.”
Mr Coppard hit back, saying that he refuses to condemn people fighting for a better standard of living in the face of “exponentially rising costs of living”.
Ms Brabin separately said the Government was seeking to shift the blame rather than negotiating a settlement.
Mr Shapps also criticised both Labour Mayors for saying that the Government is not investing enough in the region’s railways.
He said: “Unbelievably, they do, however, claim that this Government is not investing enough in our railways. I would gently point them to the Integrated Rail Plan – which will see £96bn invested into high speed rail, electrified lines and faster trains across the North.
“South Yorkshire alone is receiving £570m from our sustainable transport settlements, which means more bus priority lanes in Sheffield and cycling and walking infrastructure in Barnsley.”
Mr Coppard said: “I would also caution him against using his cut price rail plan as an example of investment in our railways.
“Far from the transformative infrastructure this was supposed to give the North – which let’s face it, is pretty much what the South already enjoys – is instead a piecemeal random set of announcements which will do nothing to level up our communities.”
Mr Shapps has called on trade unions to be constructive and follow the TSSA union’s management grade members’ lead, with Network Rail managers voting to accept a 4 per cent pay deal.
TRADE UNIONS, government and businesses do not have to be at loggerheads.
During the pandemic, this Government protected millions of jobs and tens of thousands of businesses with an economic package endorsed by unions and business groups.
When P&O Ferries shamefully sacked 800 of their staff with no warning, unions, maritime businesses, and my department stepped in to defend affected workers, offer alternative jobs, and give seafarers the employment rights they deserve.
And with our railways, I’ve welcomed the fantastic news that TSSA’s management grade members have accepted Network Rail’s reasonable and fair pay deal. This amounts to a 4 per cent pay rise and increased job security for staff.
It means that in the face of future strikes, we will still be able to run services for passengers whilst minimising disruption.
This Government is not antiunion; we’re anti-militancy. When unions work positively and productively with industry, agreements can be reached which benefit not just workers, but passengers and the wider network. That collaboration is needed now more than ever.
The railways face falling revenues and passenger numbers as well as an irreversible shift towards hybrid working.
If the railways are to survive and thrive in this new normal, they must modernise. For example, Sunday services cannot be dependent on the goodwill of drivers to volunteer for shifts. Ticket offices that average one transaction per hour are a waste of resource.
Track maintenance technology remains years behind other sectors, which is leading to avoidable delays.
The TSSA deal means we’re a step closer to remedying these problems. But when presented with a similar pay deal, other unions didn’t even bother putting it to their members.
Instead of good faith negotiation, we hear the threat of strikes. And what could be common ground quickly turns to scorched earth.
This hard-headedness is why the North face another wave of strikes today and Saturday. Avanti West Coast, Crosscountry, Hull Trains and LNER will be the operators impacted.
Millions of passengers across the North will face disruption. The human costs of reckless industrial action are paid for by the hospital appointments missed, the businesses closed due to staff shortage, and the people having to use up their annual leave as they cannot get to work.
But there are economic costs too. Yorkshire, God’s own country, is rightly a visitors’ paradise, but tourists will have no option but to cancel plans during the strikes.
The Ebor Race festival, due to welcome 300,000 visitors, is just one of many events, from Premier League football to music concerts, that stand to lose out on paying customers.
And yet, in the face of this bleak picture, West Yorkshire Mayor, Tracy Brabin, and South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard, have been found wanting. They will not condemn the strike action, nor stand up for the millions that will face the consequences of our railways grinding to a halt.
Unbelievably, they do, however, claim that this Government is not investing enough in our railways.
I would gently point them to the Integrated Rail Plan – which will see £96bn invested into high speed rail, electrified lines and faster trains across the North. South Yorkshire alone is receiving £570m from our sustainable transport settlements, which means more bus priority lanes in Sheffield
Rail strikes won’t work... industrial action will only cause more misery.
and cycling and walking infrastructure in Barnsley. And because levelling up is also about devolving power, I’m delighted the newest devolution deal sees the creation of the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority.
The region’s Mayor, when elected, will have more than half a billion pounds to address local priorities including transport, education and affordable housing.
Rail strikes won’t work. With reform inevitable, industrial action will only cause more misery and exacerbate the cost of living squeeze many are facing.
The TSSA deal shows that unions can reach agreement with employers; that compromise can be achieved for the greater good; that many millions of ordinary workers do not have to suffer from the militant tendencies of a few.
I urge parties to come together to agree a new deal forward, so we can get on with building a railway network all of us can be proud of.