Strikes can continue for 'long haul', rail unions warn MPs

Rail unions have warned MPs that there is no immediate end in sight to their increasingly bitter dispute over pay and working conditions.

Representatives from the three main unions - Aslef, RMT and TSSA - were appearing before the transport committee on Wednesday following weeks of industrial action.

Asked how close they were to settling the dispute on a scale of one to ten, Mike Whelan, head of drivers’ union Aslef, told MPs: "I think you can include zero. We are further away than when we started."

RMT head Mike Lynch said his members remained "a long way off" from agreeing deals, and accused the government of wanting the strikes to go ahead. "It’s daft. To me, it’s sabotage. They wanted these strikes to go ahead."

The RMT is in dispute with 14 rail operating firms - which are collectively represented by the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) - and Network Rail. It has already rejected an offer from the RDG of a 4% pay rise in 2022 followed by the same again in 2023. Network Rail offered a 5% pay rise in 2022 and 4% in 2023, which has also been rejected.

The RDG has offered Aslef members 4% pay rises for 2022 and 2023 as well. The union has yet to respond but it is expected to be rejected. Whelan said he could not recommend "any one element of it, and it may destroy the ability to go back to talks in the future".

Asked how long the unions can sustain the dispute, Whelan said he was in it "for the long haul" but insisted he wanted it resolved. Lynch said the RMT could sustain it "for an awfully long time", while TSSA general secretary Frank Ward argued it was a better question for government.

TSSA members working on London’s Elizabeth Line are due to strike on Thursday.

However, appearing after the unions, the RDG and Network Rail were more optimistic about securing a deal.

Asked how close they were, Steve Montgomery, chair of the RDG, said there was a "reasonable" chance with RMT and the TSSA, although he conceded they were further away with Aslef.

Tim Shovellor, chief negotiator for Network Rail, claimed 36% of RMT members wanted to take the last deal that was offered.