Train services will be badly disrupted tomorrow in England as RMT members at most train operators stage another 24-hour strike in the continuing dispute over pay and conditions, which began in the spring of last year.
Where trains are running, frequencies will be reduced and last trains will be much earlier than usual, but there will be no service from many stations in England.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: ‘Our national dispute is about pay job security and working conditions. The recent attack on ticket offices and the threat to destaff our railways, has galvanised a huge groundswell of public support which we are grateful for.
‘Our members and our union will not be cowed by rail bosses or government ministers and our dispute will continue until we can reach a negotiated settlement.
‘We remain steadfast in our industrial programme and are available for talks 24/7 with train operating companies.’
The Rail Delivery Group maintains that further strikes are ‘unnecessary’, and has urged the RMT to ballot its members on the latest offer. It added: ‘We have now made three offers that the RMT executive have blocked without a convincing explanation. We remain open to talks and we have said repeatedly that we want to give our people a pay rise, but until the union leadership and executive is united in what it wants and engages in good faith with the 30 per cent shortfall in revenue the industry is continuing to grapple with post-Covid, it is difficult to move forward.’
There may also be some disruption during the first two weeks of August, because the drivers’ union ASLEF has called for an overtime ban from 31 July to 5 August and again from 7 to 12 August. Operators have warned that some trains may be cancelled as a result.
Detailed information about the effects of industrial action is available on the websites of individual operators.