End of rail strikes in 'touching distance' claim negotiators

Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s chief negotiator, yesterday said the Government-owned company wants to work with the unions “now to make clarifications where there’s been misunderstanding” with a previously rejected offer, and put it to another vote.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We only need 2,000 people who voted no last time to change their vote and the deal will pass.

“So, we think that’s within touching distance.”

It comes as around half of Britain’s railway lines were closed with only a fifth of services running as tens of thousands of workers at Network Rail and train operators began two 48-hour walkouts yesterday and on Friday.

Many places have no services, including most of Scotland and Wales.

Picket lines have been mounted outside railway stations across the country in a repeat of what became a familiar sight last year.

Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, called on the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) to get “off the picket line and round the negotiating table” as passengers face fresh disruption from strikes.

Mr Harper told Times Radio: “There is a very fair pay offer on the table which has been accepted by two of the trade unions on Network Rail.

“The RMT recommended that their members didn’t accept it, but actually a third of their members still voted in favour of it.

“I think it is time that the RMT got off the picket line and round the negotiating table to try and hammer out a deal with the train operating companies and Network Rail.”

The minister insisted he has had “perfectly constructive discussions” with all rail union leaders when asked if he has a good relationship with RMT general secretary Mick Lynch.

Speaking to reporters from an RMT picket line outside London Euston station, Mr Lynch said: “The Government and the companies have not put any fresh proposals to us.

“They know what needs to be done to move towards a settlement, how to work through the problems and get to some documentation that we can all support, but that’s not happened so far.

“We’re hoping in the next few days that they will come to us and propose more meetings and more sessions of negotiation but at the moment that’s simply not there.

“The Government has let these strikes go ahead and that’s unfortunate.”

Location technology company TomTom said traffic congestion in some cities increased slightly at 8am Tuesday morning compared with the first working day of 2022.

Passenger footfall was down 84 per cent on Tuesday compared with the average Tuesday, data from 20 Network Rail managed stations shows.

Some 131,613 people passed through the stations, compared with 846,054 passengers on the last “normal” Tuesday, December 6.

Fresh animosity between unions and the Government is set to come ahead later this year when Downing Street comes forward with further details on anti-strikes legislation, the Work and Pensions Secretary has suggested.

When asked if the Government would call off its anti-strikes legislation if the rail unions call off their strikes now, Mel Stride told the BBC: “I would make a more general point here, which is that I think we do have to question whether we’ve got the balance right between the rights of workers to strike and the inconvenience and sometimes danger that can pose to the public.

“So I think it’s quite right that the Government has come forward and already introduced some legislation, and we will come forward with further details.”