two more rail strikes were announced in August as a result of the dispute over jobswages and conditions continue.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport trade union (RMT) Bee Network Rail and 14 train operators will depart on August 18 and 20.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The rail industry and the government need to understand that this dispute is not going to just go away.
“They must seriously work on a wage offer that helps to solve the crisis in the cost of living, job security for our members and good working conditions.
“Recent proposals from Network Rail fell short in the area of wages and safety around maintenance work.
“And the train operators have not even made us an offer of wages in recent negotiations.
“Now that Grant Shapps (Secretary of Transport) has given up his hopeless hopes of the job of Prime Minister, he can now go back to his day job and help solve this mess.
“We remain open to discussions, but we will continue our campaign until we reach a negotiated settlement.”
Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said: “By announcing even more strike dates, the RMT has dropped any pretense that this is about reaching a deal.
“It is clear that the interests of the passengers and our staff are secondary to the political campaign of the union bosses.”
The companies involved in the RMT strikes are: Network Rail, Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express, Avanti West Coast, West Midlands Trains, GTR (including Gatwick Express).
Following news of further strikes, a Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: “This is a hugely disappointing announcement from the RMT leadership that will disrupt passenger summer plans, undermine struggling businesses and disrupt the industry’s recovery.
“We want to give our people a pay rise, but asking taxpayers to take more of the burden when they’ve already contributed £600 per household during the pandemic, or expecting passengers to fund this by paying more for their tickets, isn’t it. fair or sustainable.
“Instead, we have a responsibility to make changes to long-obsolete working practices so that we can adapt to post-covid travel patterns, keep our railways up-to-date and provide our passengers with a more punctual and reliable service.” .
“Instead of organizing counterproductive strikes, we are asking the RMT leadership to keep talking so we can come to a deal that works for our people, our passengers and taxpayers.”
Earlier this week, the union announced a 24-hour rule strike for July 27the day before the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, after rejecting a “paltry” wage offer from Network Rail.
The offer was for a four percent pay increase retroactive to January, another two percent next year and another two percent provided “modernization milestones” are met.
Separately, drivers from eight railway companies have agreed to: strike on July 30 in a dispute over wages, union Aslef has said.
The eight companies affected by the industrial action are: Arriva Rail London, Chiltern Railways† Greater AngliaGreat Western, hull trains, LNER† Southeast and West Midlands trains.
When he announced the strike this week, Aslef accused the train companies of not offering wages to keep up with the rise in the cost of living.
Mick Whelan, Aslef general secretary, said: “Going on strike is the only option available now, but we are always open to talks if the train companies or the government want to talk to us and make a fair and sensible offer.”
The strikes will cripple train services this summer, and it is another blow to commuters and businesses severely disrupted by a series of national strikes held in June.
It could even have more impact than during last month’s strikes by 40,000 RMT workers.
RMT members have negotiated wages and job losses with operators.