Grant Shapps rules out meeting with rail unions as strikes halt most trains

theguardian.com:

Grant Shapps has escalated the government’s confrontation with the rail unions by ruling out meeting with them, as a shadow transport minister said lives could be lost if wages did not improve.

Labour’s Sam Tarry defied his party leadership to stand on the picket line at Euston on Wednesday morning while rail strikes disrupted travel for millions.

Shapps, the transport secretary, ruled out any meeting with rail unions even if the situation continues or escalates. In an interview with Sky News on Wednesday morning, Shapps said he was “not the right person to be in the room negotiating”.

Pickets were set up outside train stations across the country on Wednesday as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Network Rail and 14 train operators went on strike over jobs, pay, pensions and conditions.

Keir Starmer reiterated on Tuesday that the Labour frontbench should not be on the picket line. But Tarry told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “If we don’t make a stand today, people’s lives could be lost.”

He said: “Some of the lowest-paid workers are on strike today in the rail industry – safety critical workers, workers who make sure our railways get people to work and do so safely.

“It can’t be accepted any more that people just have to accept inflation is out of control. The government is doing nothing on the cost of living crisis, and I tell you what’s shameful – I believe strongly that if we had a Labour government right now, this dispute wouldn’t be happening because we would actually be around the table.”

Only about one in five trains will run on Wednesday, with some areas having no trains all day.

The disputes are becoming entrenched, with more industrial action expected in the coming days and weeks on the railways