Four strikes were announced by the RMT rail Union, each lasting 48 hours and taking place in December or January. It is stated in a news release :
After industry bosses failed to offer any new settlements, RMT, the rail union, will stage a series of 48-hour strikes in December and January.
#Breaking RMT announces 4 weeks of rail disruption over December and January, including 4 48-hour strikes. Over 40,000 members across Network and 14 Train Operating Companies will take strike action on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December and on January 3,4,6 and 7.
— Share_Talk ™ (@Share_Talk) November 22, 2022
More than 40,000 Network members and 14 Train Operating Companies members will strike on 13-14, 16 and 17 December. They also plan to strike on January 3, 4, 6, and 7.
The overtime ban will be in effect on the railways between 18 December and 2 January. This means that RMT will be going into industrial action for four weeks.
The union explained the reasons behind the strike by saying:
To allow intensive negotiations to resolve the dispute, the union has rescinded any previous strikes.
Network Rail has not made an improvement in their offer for jobs, pay, and conditions to our members over the past two weeks of negotiations.
Rail Delivery Group representing the railway operating companies has also broken their promise to make a meaningful pay and condition offer and cancelled negotiations that were scheduled to take place yesterday.
We have also evidence from 14 train companies that Rail Delivery Group does not have the authority to negotiate on their behalf. This is despite the RDG’s repeated requests to us to return to the table.
In a statement Mick Lynch the RMT general secretary stated:
The latest round of strikes will demonstrate how important our members are for the running of this nation and will send a clear signal that we want good job security, fair pay, and decent conditions for our employees.
Although we have tried to be reasonable, it is difficult to reach a settlement when the government is dead.
Employers are in chaos and sometimes say different things to different people at the same moment. This entire process is a mess that only the new Secretary can fix. This message will be delivered to him when I meet him later in the week.
In the meantime, we want to send a message to the public: We are sorry for your inconvenience, but we encourage you to vent your frustrations at the government, railway employers, and railroad workers during the latest phase.
