The failure of union leaders to extend a planned rail strike to the country’s largest train franchise has sparked optimism within the government that no action will be able to paralyze the network.
The Telegraph understands that the low turnout in the vote of the Railway, Maritime and Transport union on the strike action of Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is seen as evidence of a decrease in the appetite for industrial action between the railway staff.
Separately, the turnout among South Western Railway workers was 64%, compared to 77% in a guard dispute in 2017.
A transport source added that as voting on the strike action among GTR employees did not reach the legal threshold of 40 per cent of staff, there would now be a significant number of commuter trains running in London and the United States. southeast, regardless of any strike.
“Staff are clearly smelling coffee”
The source said: “The turnout in all the suburban ballot papers was very low in the previous polls and the largest operator, GTR, did not meet the strike threshold at all.
“The staff of the suburban networks can clearly smell the coffee here. They are clearly less enthusiastic about the strike than they were and recognize that it will be harder to make an impact when half of the suburban market does not arrive at all. ways and most of the rest can probably work from home. “
Meanwhile, John Penrose, the government’s competition tsar, and three former railroad ministers warned that Downing Street’s plans to put the tracks and trains under the control of a public body would increase the power of the unions.
Writing in The Telegraph, he said: “These railway reforms would create a number of new major monopoly train services for a single company on a political basis. travelers, because they will only have to win a single strike vote to keep entire regions rescued. “
Last week, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told The Telegraph that the government was willing to draft laws requiring a minimum number of railway staff to work during a strike.