Companies have made a ‘final offer’ to union including pay rise of 9% over two years
The RMT has received a fresh offer from train operators, the union said, raising hopes of a breakthrough in the long-running pay dispute.
Talks have been ongoing in London this week with the RMT and the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), representing train firms, as well as separately with Network Rail.
Continue reading...Prime minister facing questions from leader of the Labour party and other MPs
Huw Merriman, the rail minister, told MPs this morning that the government has lost more money due to the impact of rail strikes than it would have cost to settle the disputes months ago, PA Media reports. PA says:
Merriman told MPs the row has “ended up costing more” but insisted the “overall impact” on all public sector pay deals must be considered.
Ben Bradshaw, a Labour member of the committee, put it to Merriman that “we’re talking of a cost to the government of over a billion (pounds) so far” from the impact of strikes, which have repeatedly decimated services for several months.
Continue reading...Industrial action also set to escalate in other sectors while government gears up anti-strike legislation
A wave of further teaching, ambulance and civil service strikes is likely to move forward this week as nurses are set for their second major period of industrial action.
While ministers signalled a new deal may be close with the rail unions, strikes looked set to escalate in other sectors as ministers geared up to introduce controversial new anti-strike legislation to the House of Commons on Monday.
Continue reading...Business department says bill will enforce ‘basic’ level of service from different sectors during stoppages
Ministers are to unveil controversial new legislation designed to curb the effectiveness of strike action as industrial disputes continue to paralyse services across the UK.
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has previously said the bill will enforce a “basic” level of service from different sectors if workers choose to strike.
Continue reading...Industrial action over pay and working conditions has caused almost four weeks of disruption
The last day in the latest stretch of railway strikes has begun, ending a run of almost four weeks of continuous disruption caused by industrial action over pay and working conditions.
Only about one in five trains across Great Britain will run on Saturday as a 48-hour walkout by members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers union concludes, with no early morning or evening services and a pared-back schedule on main intercity and urban lines.
Continue reading...PM offers no hint he will compromise on pay offers as former cabinet minister says nurses key to dealing with NHS pressures
The journalist interviewing Rishi Sunak this morning did not press Sunak on excess deaths because he needed to ask some questions about Prince Harry’s memoir. But Sunak would not go near the topic.
Asked how he felt seeing the royal family “torn apart” by these claims and revelations, Sunak replied:
As you would expect, it is not appropriate for me to comment on matters to do with the royal family.
I wouldn’t comment on matters to do with the royal family. I would just say I am enormously grateful to our armed forces for the incredible job they do in keeping us all safe. We’re all very fortunate for their service.
Continue reading...Passengers advised to travel only if necessary on Wednesday, although No 10 and Network Rail optimistic about reaching deal
• UK strike calendar: service stoppages in January
More disruption awaits commuters returning to work after the Christmas break on Wednesday, the second of five consecutive days of rail strikes.
Once again, much of Britain’s rail network will not be operating, with only about a fifth of trains expected to run, leaving only a skeleton service for commuters on some urban and intercity lines.
Continue reading...Downing Street says NHS is receiving funding it needs despite Royal College of Emergency Medicine saying ministers are in denial
Earlier today the vice president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine said ministers were in denial over the extent of problems facing hospital A&E departments. (See 11.19am.) At the Downing Street lobby briefing this morning the prime minister’s spokesperson tried to avoid sounding complacent, but he did claim the NHS has the funding it needs this winter. He told journalists:
We are confident we are providing the NHS with the funding it needs, as we did throughout the pandemic, to deal with these issues …
We have been upfront with the public, long in advance of this winter, that, because of the pandemic and the pressures it’s placed in the backlog of cases, that this would be an extremely challenging winter. And that is what we are seeing.
We have continued to put billions of pounds of additional funding into the NHS – £7.5bn for adult social care and for delayed discharge over the next two years. And there’s £14.1bn in additional funding to improve urgent and emergency care and tackle the backlogs.
This is certainly an unprecedented challenge for the NHS, brought about by a number of factors.
Could Johnson really win a parliamentary ballot? Or might Conservative members impose him on unwilling Tory MPs (which proved less than successful in the case of Truss)? Above all, is it likely that he would stand in the first place? For all his reputation for recklessness, Johnson has a prudent streak. Both last year and in 2016 he decided not to stand, bruising the feelings of some of those who had invested hope in his candidacy …
It’s possible that a reinstalled Johnson could confound his critics, as he has done so many times before, and win the Conservatives a fifth term. Let Sunak do the hard work, Johnsonians will say – the tax rises, the spending cuts. Then their man can breeze in with his unquenchable optimism, cut taxes and cheer Britain up. Really?
Continue reading...Chief negotiator says better communications could sway union members, as first of five days of rail strikes begins
A deal to stop strikes is “in touching distance”, the chief negotiator for Network Rail has claimed, as drivers and staff began the first of five consecutive days of national rail strikes.
Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s chief negotiator, suggested the pay offer would not be improved but claimed that better communication of the deal would begin to win over union members.
Continue reading...Proposed law requiring 20% of rail service during strikes could extend across public sector including NHS
Unions are expected to take legal action against anti-strike laws being prepared by Rishi Sunak amid reports the curbs will be unveiled when parliament returns this month.
The legislation being looked at by Sunak would extend plans already announced by ministers to enforce minimum service levels on public transport – meaning 20% of regular rail services would need to continue during strike action.
Continue reading...RMT staging two 48-hour strikes from Tuesday and Friday and Aslef has called strike for Thursday
Rail passengers will face fresh travel disruption this week because of strikes by tens of thousands of workers in bitter disputes over pay, jobs and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 14 train operators will stage two 48-hour strikes from Tuesday and Friday, while drivers in the Aslef union will strike on Thursday.
Continue reading...Figure worse than predicted and head of industry body expects ‘more business failures’ in early 2023
The rail strikes have had a worse impact on the UK’s hospitality industry than expected – costing bars, pubs, restaurants and hotels £1.5bn in December alone – according to the head of the body representing the sector.
Kate Nicholls, the chief executive of UKHospitality, said this had contributed to a “perfect storm” for businesses battling high energy bills and a cost of living crisis, adding this meant “undoubtedly we will see more business failures” in the next three months.
Continue reading...General secretary Mark Serwotka predicts ‘coordinated and synchronised’ action from January
The head of the largest civil servants union has warned ministers that “coordinated and synchronised” strike action across the economy will “significantly escalate” from January.
Mark Serwotka, the general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS), was speaking as his members employed in passport control for Border Force set up picket lines at Britain’s largest airports on Wednesday, in a four-day strike set to continue until New Year’s Eve.
Continue reading...Delays and cancellations linked to 20 years of privatisation, rising costs and labour shortages worsened by pandemic, say experts
Rail passengers have been delayed or disrupted on more than half of all train services departing from 15 of Great Britain’s busiest stations in the last year, Guardian analysis shows, exposing what has been described as a “broken” railway system that cannot easily be fixed.
Experts said the figures – which show rail services in the north and Midlands as the hardest hit – demonstrated the impact of two decades of privatisation, which had increased costs and public subsidies, combined with labour shortages exacerbated by the pandemic.
Continue reading...Railways closed because of RMT strike while 1,000 Border Force staff in PCS union continue action
Here is a reminder of the upcoming strikes which have been announced by up until January.
Shoppers hoping for a Boxing Day bargain could face traffic jams as rail strikes bring train services to a halt, with the AA saying it expects 15.2m cars on UK roads on Boxing Day, with shoppers and football fans among those likely to travel.
Continue reading...No services on railways for second consecutive day as RMT union members strike over pay
Thousands of people face Boxing Day travel chaos across Britain as a rail strike means no services will be running.
Many have been forced to cancel or make alternative plans as the industrial action continues.
Continue reading...Sympathy and irritation from public as thousands of RMT union members at Network Rail prepare to strike
Rail passengers were facing delays as they rushed to get the last trains before Christmas Eve services came to a halt, while Britain’s roads were braced for extra traffic as a result of the strikes on the railways.
People embarking on festive getaways or heading home for the holidays gathered on the concourses of major stations including London Euston and Birmingham New Street.
Continue reading...Aslef action falls between two 48-hour strikes by RMT, knocking out most trains for five days
Train drivers have called a fresh 24-hour strike on 5 January in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions on UK railways.
The action at 15 train operators by members of the Aslef union falls between two 48-hour strikes by the RMT union on 3-4 and 6-7 January, meaning most trains will be wiped out for five consecutive days.
Continue reading...People urged only to travel if absolutely necessary on last weekend before Christmas
Rail passengers face another day of reduced services on Saturday as thousands of Rail, Maritime and Transport workers’ union (RMT) staff continue a 48-hour strike.
People have been urged to only attempt travel if absolutely necessary on the last full weekend before Christmas, with only a skeleton service running and all train journeys ending by early evening.
Continue reading...Mick Lynch speaks after talks with minister on Thursday as one in five trains expected to run today and some National Highways workers strike
RMT leader Mick Lynch has said there are “no new proposals on the table” after talks convened by rail minister Huw Merriman on Thursday.
Speaking from the picket line at London Euston station, the union chief told Sky News:
“We had an exchange about what might be possible and some ways forward and ideas that all the parties shared, and the rail minister requested that all the parties get down to some more discussions in the next period.
“We’ll look to arrange those meetings with the employers and see if we can develop some solutions to the issues that hopefully all the parties can support.
If we get a set of documentation and a pay proposal that our members want to support, it will resolve the dispute and we can take all the action away.
I hope we can do that as quickly as possible.
“We started today with 46 organisations.
And why did we do that? We did that because we wanted to make sure that we manage this strike safely and effectively for every patient, the people that I’m speaking with here tonight in this room, and every other patient in England and Wales and Northern Ireland.
Continue reading...