Threat of ‘crippling’ national strike moves closer as ballot closes

(file photo)
PA Wire
John Dunne @jhdunne24 May 2022

The threat of a national rail strike was poised to move a step closer on Tuesday in a bitter dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.

More than 40,000 members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union at Network Rail and 15 train operators have been voting on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action.

The ballot was set to close on Tuesday with union leaders predicting strong support for strikes when the result is announced.

If Network Rail signallers go on strike it will have a significant impact on services. It is possible that trains will only run for part of the day, such as from 7am to 7pm, and only on main lines.

The walkouts on the railways could begin as early as next month. Concerns have also been raised of possible power blackouts, petrol shortages and empty shelves if the unions vote to strike. In response, rail chiefs are drawing up emergency plans to prioritise freight trains on some routes.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said at the weekend that ministers are looking at drawing up laws that would make industrial action illegal unless a certain number of staff are working.

Tim Shoveller, Network Rail regional managing director, said: “We continue to talk with our trade unions to find solutions on pay, and will do everything we can to avoid damaging industrial action.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT