Rail strikes will occur “very soon” and could last long enough to cause power outages unless the government leans in to demand a 10% pay rise, warns union leader
- Trade union leader warns rail strikes “very soon” unless ministers step back
- RMT refuses to rule out that the outages will last long enough to reach the power supplies
- Unions are calling for wage increases to be around the same level as 10 percent inflation
By James Tapsfield, political editor of Mailonline
Posted: 11:52, 29 May 2022 | Updated: 12:50 PM, May 29, 2022
Rail strikes will occur “very soon” and could last long enough to cause blackouts, unless the government leans in to demand huge wage increases.
The RMT union leader intensified threats of a wave of disruptions warning that he “sees no way out” of the clash with ministers.
Mick Lynch declined to rule out the so-called “summer of discontent” affecting food sources and said they could “last a long, long time” unless there are wage increases to match rising inflation.
Network Rail union members and 13 train operators overwhelmingly supported industrial action in a vote on jobs and pay last week.
The strikes will have to warn for a fortnight, meaning they could start in mid-June.
Ministers have been warned that freight trains supplying critical power plants could be severely disrupted. There are also fears about fuel supply lines in garage courtyards.
RMT union leader Mick Lynch stepped up threats of a wave of strikes in an interview with Sy News, warning that he “sees no way out” of the clash with ministers.
Passengers waiting for services interrupted at Waterloo station during a series of previous strikes in 2019
When asked if a strike is inevitable, Lynch told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge program on Sunday: “They’re changing their line instead of hardening their line. It’s very, very likely that there will be a strike and it will be very soon.”
On the duration of any industrial action, he said: “They could go on for a long, long time. There is no sign at this time that anyone is behind their side of the table.
Lynch declined to explain the level of interruption union that could be caused, but expressly declined to rule out the impact of power supplies.
‘We’ll decide if that happens. We want the strike to be as effective as possible from our point of view, ‘he said.
“Our members are ready to take effective strike action to resolve this dispute. I have no idea how long it will take and I cannot determine from here what the results will be and the side effects of this. “.
Lynch suggested that workers will only be satisfied with wage increases that match inflation, which is expected to exceed 10% of the CPI measure in the coming months and is already at 11.1%. the RPI metric preferred by unions.
He also pointed to Keir Starmer, suggesting he did not appear to be on the side of the workers.
Lynch, whose RMT is not affiliated with the work, said unions were wondering “what is the point of this connection if we get this dull democratic party sitting at the center of politics”.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has condemned the union threats and warned that they could undermine the prospects of the railway industry.