Strike action is expected to disrupt Britain’s rail network for much of the rest of the year after the RMT was given a mandate to continue industrial action for another six months.
The union said on Thursday it had won the support of 90% of members who voted at 14 rail companies to extend a strike that began mid-last year. The average attendance was 70%.
Mick Lynch, general secretary of RMT, said the result “sends a clear message” to the industry. “They need to get around the table with RMT and negotiate in good faith for a better deal for the railway workers,” he said.
The RMT’s current mandate for industrial action expires later this month and the union is set to stage his last walkout in the 14 railway companies on May 13, after rejecting a proposal for a 9% salary increase over two years, which was linked to a major reform of working practices.
Separately, train drivers’ union Aslef is planning a series of 24-hour walkouts on May 12 and 31 and June 3, and is also preparing to revote members on extending its term until the end of the year. year.
The new RMT mandate comes as relations between the railways and the union hit a new low after railway bosses hit back at union accusations that leaders had ‘torpedoed’ a deal to end strikes .
Lynch said the railroads “relinquished” the proposals agreed to with union negotiators last week when he announced the rejection of the wage proposal.
But in a letter to Lynch, Steve Montgomery, chief executive of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, accused the RMT boss of using “provocative and inflammatory language”.
The letter, sent on Wednesday and seen by the Financial Times, questioned Lynch’s version of events and said the RDG had agreed specific wording of the proposal with union leaders, including new wording to address their concerns. .
Montgomery wrote that Lynch’s comments “in no way reflected the discussions in the room at the time.” He urged the union to call off next week’s strike and instead offer the offer it rejected to its members.
An industry executive said the RMT had “blow up negotiations” as an excuse to launch new strikes. The RMT did not respond to a request for comment, but still said it was seeking a resolution while protecting its members.
The RDG declined to comment on the letter but said the outcome of the ballot was “disappointing”, adding: “RMT members would be forgiven for wondering why they are only being offered a vote to expand this dispute and a vote never to end it.”
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