Tag: rail strikes

Rail Strikes: How the Tory government is blocking a negotiated resolution

TUC: We’re not saying the Transport Secretary ‘should get involved’ – we’re saying he’s already involved

During the last round of rail strikes the Department for Transport put out a statement saying: “It’s extremely misleading to suggest the Transport Secretary should get involved in these negotiations.”

To be clear, trade unions are not saying the Transport Secretary ‘should get involved’. We are saying he already is involved.

And that’s the problem. He is deeply involved, yet pretends he isn’t.

We know this because it is there in black and white in the contracts between the government and the train operating companies (TOCs).

The TUC commissioned an independent legal opinion from Michael Ford QC, who looked in detail at these contacts.

His opinion, which you can download here, advises that the Transport Secretary has “very extensive powers” over what can be agreed between rail operators and unions, and “very significant contractual power” to direct how industrial disputes are handled.

The contracts require TOCs to abide by the Transport Secretary’s Dispute Handling Policy. In addition to this, the Transport Secretary may give TOCs a Dispute Handling Plan to direct them in a specific dispute.

According to Michael Ford QC, this means that the Transport Secretary has “overarching direction and control of the strike… either because the strategy is agreed with the Secretary of State or because the Secretary of State simply directs how the strike is to be handled”.

The contracts also make clear that TOCs face financial penalties if they agree with unions changes to pay, terms & conditions, redundancies, or restructuring that fall outside of the mandate given by the Transport Secretary in these documents.

For the rail firms, it is like negotiating with a brick wall – and Grant Shapps is the mason who built it.

To the public, this brick wall is invisible. And Grant Shapps would prefer that nobody knows it exists. When asked in parliamentary questions to publish the Dispute Handling Plan, his department refused.

But surely it is in the public interest to know the truth about this dispute.

We hope that with public attention returning to the dispute again during this week’s action, he will finally come clean on some important questions:

  • Why is Grant Shapps pretending he has no role in negotiations when he sets the mandate for employers on pay, term & conditions, redundancies and restructuring?
  • What are the secret red lines that Grant Shapps has set, and that will trigger financial penalties if the train operating companies cross them?
  • Why won’t he publish the Dispute Handling Policy and any Dispute Handling Plans so that the public know what the government is demanding? After all, the rail unions have been very open with the public on their demands.

Rail workers do not want this dispute to be prolonged. But due to the Conservative government, the negotiations are a sham.

Genuine negotiations can only happen in an employment dispute if both the employer and the union are in control over the agreements they can reach.

Rail unions would prefer Grant Shapps to give back control of the negotiating mandate to the TOCs. But if he keeps a tight grip on the negotiating mandate, then he should at least come clean on his demands.

And he should agree to meet with rail unions after months of refusing to. Otherwise, how can any progress be made?

Rail strikes: Shapps speaks out

Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps said: “Today (27 July 2022), union bosses are once again trying to cause as much disruption as possible to the day-to-day lives of millions of hardworking people around the country.

“What’s more, it has been cynically timed to disrupt the start of the Commonwealth Games and crucial Euro 2022 semi-finals, in a deliberate bid to impact the travel of thousands trying to attend events the whole country is looking forward to.

“Sadly, this is nothing new. In fact, in my 3 years as Transport Secretary, there has not been a single day when unions have not been in dispute with the rail industry by either threatening or taking industrial action with around 60 separate disputes lodged in 2022 alone.

“This country’s taxpayers stumped up £600 per household to ensure not a single rail worker lost their job during the pandemic, but many of those very same people will be forced into losing a day’s wages through no fault of their own but because of stubborn union leaders’ refusals to modernise.

“Union bosses will claim they’re willing to do a deal but how can anyone take them seriously when, earlier this month, the RMT dismissed a Network Rail offer worth 8% over the next 2 years without even consulting their members.

“Unfortunately, it’s too late to call off today’s damaging strikes but I urge the RMT and indeed all unions to stop holding the country to ransom with the threat of further industrial action and get off picket lines and back around the negotiating table. If not, we risk passengers turning their backs on the railway for good.”

RMT Press Office issued the following statement yesterday:

There are reports based on anonymous briefings from the rail industry to the right-wing media that are wholly inaccurate regarding negotiations in this dispute.

The last offer we had from Network Rail was rejected by our National Executive Committee on 13 July. There has been no new offer since from Network Rail.

Claims about the “sentiment” expressed by Eddie Dempsey and relayed by anonymous industry sources to the Daily Telegraph are factually wrong.

We were optimistic about making enough progress to suspend strike action. That is how we always approach negotiations because RMT is serious about getting a negotiated settlement.

However, that evaporated when Network Rail hardened their position on attacking our members conditions of work and even threatening to put compulsory redundancies back on the table.

Anonymous rail industry sources are attempting to drive a wedge between striking members and our NEC which will fail.

Threatening us as they did with punishing our members with compulsory redundancies and 50% cuts in maintenance schedules is a poor negotiating tactic and will lead to extending the time it takes to reach a deal.

The RMT has not anonymously briefed the media at any point during this dispute or gone into great detail regarding the ins and outs of negotiations that are behind closed doors.

That is because we feel that would be an act of bad faith and the public are more interested in the substantive issues and whether we can reach a settlement.

Our strike action remains on tomorrow (Wednesday) and we will continue to work to get job security, a decent pay rise and good working conditions for our members in Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies.