Union fury as judge blocks national rail strike

Furious union chiefs immediately vowed to re-ballot members after Network Rail won a temporary injunction against the four-day action by signal workers next week which would have been the first national rail strike for 16 years.

The general secretary of the Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT), Bob Crow, said: "This judgment is an attack on the whole trade union movement and twists the anti-union laws even further in favour of the bosses.

"Workers fighting for the principle of a safe railway have had the whole weight of the law thrown against them."

Staff from the RMT and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association had planned to walk out from Tuesday over plans to cut 1,500 jobs and extend evening and weekend maintenance work.

The injunction does not cover a planned walkout by maintenance workers but Network Rail insists this will cause minimum impact.

The head of operations at Network Rail, Robin Gisby, said both sides needed to work together to avoid the threat of further disruption.

He said: "The signallers' strike is off and train services next week will run as normal.

"A dispute with the unions remains, however, and we have a responsibility to our people to continue talking to the unions to find a settlement that works for us all."

Judge Mrs Justice Sharp granted the order after hearing how the "unlawful" strike could cause "immense damage" to the British economy.

Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said negotiations between the unions and Network Rail needed to resume.

He said: "This will be a huge relief to all those who are planning on travelling on the railways next week.

"It is now vital that the two sides in this dispute get back round the table as soon as possible to negotiate a settlement and I call on them to do so."

Network Rail took legal action after two days of talks to prevent the strike – which would have left just 20 per cent of trains running – ended without agreement.

The firm claimed there were inconsistencies in the way the RMT had balloted members, including votes from staff at 11 signal boxes which did not exist.