But RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Network Rail’s offer represents a real pay cut for our members and the paltry amount is conditional on RMT members agreeing to drastic changes in their working lives.
“We have made progress with redundancies. But Network Rail is still trying to make our members poorer, while in some cases we have won double what they offer, with other rail operators.
“The train operators remain stubborn and refuse to make any new offer related to job security and wages.
“Strike strikes are the only avenue open to us to make clear to both the rail industry and the government that this dispute will last as long as necessary, until we reach a negotiated settlement.
“The public who will be affected by our strike action needs to understand that it is chained by the government to Network Rail and the TOCs, meaning the rail network will be shut down for 24 hours.
“We remain open to further discussions.”
‘Both sides are now digging’
The announcement comes just hours before drivers union Aslef prepares to announce strike dates on Thursday. The strike could even happen the day after the RMT strike maximum inconvenience for commuters and Brits going on holiday†
In what would be the largest union strike in a quarter of a century, workers at eight train companies supported union action in a vote on wages on Monday.
Strikes by 21,000 members of the Aslef union are expected to cause even more chaos than last month’s RMT strikes, with probably only one in ten shifts working on strike days.
Aslef’s executive committee will meet in the next two days to discuss the outcome of the vote. Union sources said an announcement of dates for action is likely to follow on Thursday, allowing strikes to be held as early as July 28.
When asked if there was any hope of a breakthrough before Thursday, a senior union source said: “I don’t think so. Both sides are now digging.”