RMT to hold rail strike across England on eve of FA Cup final
The RMT has announced another rail strike for Friday 2 June, the day before the men’s FA Cup final, warning that the government “cannot wish the dispute away”.
About 20,000 RMT members working for the 14 major passenger firms in England will strike for 24 hours in the long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
The stoppage falls between two days of strikes already called by the drivers’ union Aslef on 31 May and 3 June, compounding the disruption for passengers ahead of the final at Wembley between Manchester City and Manchester United on the Saturday.
The union said that while there had been contact with the train operators body, the Rail Delivery Group, since the last strike was called, there had been no new proposals since the RMT rejected the last pay offer, which was 9% over two years but with conditions attached and only a short-term guarantee against job cuts.
The RMT’s general secretary, Mick Lynch, blamed the government for refusing to allow rail negotiators to make an offer it could consider.
He said: “Ministers cannot just wish this dispute away. They underestimate the strength of feeling our members who have just given us a new six-month strike mandate, continue to support the campaign and the action and are determined to see this through until we get an acceptable resolution.
“The government now needs to unlock the RDG and allow them to make an offer that can be put to a referendum of our members.”
A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said it stood by its last proposal, which it said was “agreed line by line with their negotiating team, which would have resolved this dispute and given our lowest paid staff a rise of up to 13%”.
They added: “By calling more strike action the RMT leadership have chosen to prolong
Read more on theguardian.com
