Rail strike: Boris Johnson condemns unions and calls for ‘reasonable compromise’ as travel turmoil looms | Political news

Boris Johnson will condemn unions for what is believed to be the biggest train strike in three decades.

Approximately 50,000 members of the Rail, Marine and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail and 13 train operators will walk out for all Tuesdays, as well as Thursdays and Saturdays when disputes over pay, work and conditions.

Only a fifth of trains will run on strike days, mainly on main lines, and then only for about 11 hours.

Network Rail has warned industrial action will cause six days hiatus due to a direct impact on services on dates in between.

Ahead of a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the prime minister will argue that unions are “harming the very people they claim to be helping” and will call for a “reasonable compromise”.

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There will also be a strike on the London Underground on Tuesday by union members RMT and Unite, in a separate row that will cause major disruption to the Pipeline.

Talk to stop Railway strike was held until Monday afternoon, but remained unresolved – with both sides blaming each other for the lack of breakthrough.

The union RMT is asking for a 7% wage increase, which is below inflation but higher than what employers offer.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the dispute could drag on for months, adding: “It is clear that the Tory government, after cutting £4 billion in funding from National Rail and Transport for London, is now actively prevented the settlement of this dispute.

“Railway companies have now proposed a rate of mass pay according to the relevant inflation rate, which is higher than wages that have been frozen for the past few years.

“According to government orders, companies are also seeking to make thousands of job cuts and fail to provide any guarantees against mandatory redundancies.”

The prime minister is expected to accuse unions of “pulling out commuters who end up supporting railway workers’ jobs” while hitting businesses around the country.

He will say: “The excessive demands on wages will also put an end to the current challenges facing families around the world with the rising cost of living.

“Now is the time to come to a reasonable compromise for the benefit of the British people and the rail workforce.”

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Downing Street said ministers at Tuesday’s meeting would discuss the rail strikes and also the difficult economic landscape facing the country.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the prime minister are expected to argue that discipline and reining in wages are important for managing inflationary pressures from the bottom up.

“We have a responsibility to tackle inflation and prevent it from becoming entrenched,” No 10 said.

“To do this, we have to make sure that payments are reasonable and don’t scramble to match inflation, and as a result increase prices as the cost of goods and services increases to combine payments.” salary increases.”

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Johnson said: “It is right that we reward hard-working workers in the public sector with a raise, but this needs to be proportionate and balanced.

“Consistently higher levels of inflation will have a much bigger impact on people’s pay packages in the long run, destroying savings and prolonging the hardships we’re facing longer.”