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Rail passengers face major travel disruption over Christmas and New Year as workers stage a series of 48-hour strikes in December and January in the long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
The RMT union has revealed that more than 40,000 workers at Network Rail and 14 train operators will stage a series of 48-hour walkouts.
The protests will take place on December 13, 14, 16 and 17 and on January 3, 4, 6 and 7.
The RMT has also issued a ban on overtime for its members across the rail network from 18 December to 2 January.
It will follow a strike this Saturday, November 26, by members of the train drivers’ union Aslef, working for 11 train operators.
On the next tranche of the exit, the RMT said in a statement: “Despite all the efforts of our negotiators, it is clear that the government is directly interfering with our attempts to reach an agreement.
“The union suspended previous strike action in good faith to allow for intensive negotiations to resolve the dispute.
“Yet Network Rail have failed to make an improved offer on jobs, pay and conditions for our members in the last two weeks of talks.
“At the same time, the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, also broke its promise to make a meaningful offer on pay and conditions and even called off talks due to take place yesterday.”
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “This latest round of strikes will show how important our members are to the running of this country and send a clear message that we want a good deal on job security, pay and conditions for our people .
“We were reasonable, but it is impossible to find a negotiated settlement when the dead hand of the government is leading these negotiations.
“Employers are in disarray and are saying different things to different people, sometimes at the same time.
“This whole process has become a farce that only the new secretary of state can pull off.” When I meet with him later this week, I will pass on this message.
Mr Lynch added that the union “regrets the inconvenience caused” to the public this Christmas, but urged them to “direct their anger and frustration at the Government and rail employers during this final phase of action”.
“Our class of workers need a pay rise and we are determined to win this for our members at the RMT,” he said.
The effects of these strikes are already well established after a number of similar walkouts affected British travelers over the summer and earlier this autumn; industrial action by around 5,000 Network Rail signallers will mean half the rail network will be closed, with much reduced services on the rest.
Non-union members and managers will allow the service to run between 7.30am and 6.30pm across around half the rail network.
Tim Shoveler, Network Rail’s chief negotiator, said: “No one can deny the precarious financial hole the railway is in. Hitting makes that hole bigger and the task of finding a solution even more difficult.
“Only through reform that does not lead to job losses can savings be made which can then be translated into an improved offer. And while progress has been made in the last two weeks, we have yet to find that breakthrough.
“We will not give up and hope the RMT will come back to the table with a more realistic assessment of the situation.”
A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said: “We have made real progress over the last two weeks of talks and for the first time in months we can see the outlines of a credible deal.”
The ongoing disputes center around pay, working conditions and job security.
The RMT union says its average member earns £31,000 a year, “with many on far less and none having seen an increase for three years”. The RMT also says the dispute is about “preventing catastrophic cuts which will directly affect maintenance and affordability”.
The Independent has approached the Department for Transport (DfT) for comment.
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