Strikes set to cost the railways £1billion as union bosses take heat
Strikes set to cost the railways £1BILLION with union bosses accused of wrecking their own industry
- More strikes are planned for tomorrow, Friday and Saturday
Rail union barons were last night accused of wrecking their own industry as it emerged strikes will likely cost the railways £1billion this year.
According to internal analysis seen by the Daily Mail, rail walkouts have cost the industry more than £900million since June 2022.
And with ministers and union leaders both digging in amid the threat of more strikes, the hit is expected to exceed £1billion by the end of this summer. The sum is enough to have settled the outstanding disputes.
It comes ahead of a week of misery for passengers, with walkouts by the RMT and Aslef unions scheduled for tomorrow, Friday and Saturday.
Saturday’s strike will hit football fans heading to London for the FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Manchester City at Wembley.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch (centre right) joins members on the picket line outside Euston station on May 13 this year
A passenger waits at Charing Cross amid rail strikes earlier this month
The industry analysis estimates the sector has lost £30million for each of the more than 30 national strike days held by the RMT and Aslef in England over the last year. It includes this week’s strikes.
READ MORE: Train strike dates: When are the next walkouts and is the FA Cup final affected?
Tory MP Greg Smith, who sits on the Commons transport committee, said the analysis showed the ‘staggering level of damage strikes do to our whole country and economy’.
Millions more has been lost to industrial action short of a strike, such as bans on overtime working. The walkouts have also hurt England’s economy just as it started to recover after the Covid-19 pandemic and amid the inflationary shockwaves caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The hospitality sector is estimated to have suffered a more than £3billion blow since last summer, with this week’s walkouts expected to wipe another £100million from takings.
A Government source said: ‘Ministers have facilitated fair and reasonable pay offers tied to reform which would secure the future of the rail industry.
‘Yet union leaders continue to block their members from having a vote on these offers and… seem hellbent on continuing to strike, doing huge damage to their own industry and driving a generation of passengers away from the railways.’
Peter Bone, the Tory MP for Wellingborough, said: ‘People will… vote with their feet and get in their cars because the railways have become so unreliable – the unions are breaking their own industry and I can’t see at all how that’s in the interests of their members.’
Aslef, the union for train drivers, will walk out tomorrow and Saturday, with station staff and guards represented by the RMT striking on Friday. Aslef has snubbed an 8 per cent pay hike over two years, which would take the average drivers’ salary from £60,000 to £65,000.
The RMT rejected a 9 per cent increase for its members. The unions have refused to put offers to members in a vote.
An Aslef spokesman said: ‘The Government is preventing the train companies from making a settlement.’
The RMT pointed to previous statements blaming ministers for a lack of urgency in wanting to resolve the disputes.
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