Rail workers are set to walk out on Christmas Eve as part of a fresh strike in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) will stage an extra strike on Network Rail from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 6am on December 27, the union announced on Monday.
The industrial action is on top of already planned strikes on December 13-14 and 16-17, which will go ahead
The union announced it will put the latest offer from Network Rail to its members, with a recommendation to reject.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said it was unfortunate that the union had been “compelled to take this action due to the continuing intransigence of the employers”.
He said: “We remain available for talks in order to resolve these issues but we will not bow to pressure from the employers and the Government to the detriment of our members.”
Plans for additional rail strikes announced by the RMT are “dreadful”, former levelling-up secretary Simon Clarke said.
He tweeted: “This is dreadful by the RMT – ruining people’s Christmases with an 8% pay rise over two years on the table (and no compulsory redundancies). The railway received £16 billion – £600/household – in emergency funding during Covid and drivers’ median salary is £59k, staff’s is £44k.”
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) announced it was calling off strikes planned in Network Rail for December and is putting an offer to its members.
The TSSA had been due to strike on December 17 and take other forms of industrial action from December 13.
Strikes on 14 train companies will go ahead next week although talks will be held with the Rail Delivery Group on Tuesday.
The government is braced for a wave of strike action over the winter as pay offers fail to keep pace with soaring inflation.
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