Mick Lynch says rail workers could still be striking this time next year unless the Tories stop thwarting a pay and jobs deal.
The boss of the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union is working night and day on a settlement but ministers will not budge. And he says his members will not give in.
Mr Lynch made himself available for talks with Transport Secretary Mark Harper over the Christmas holidays but no call came.
He will now have his first sit down with the Government in 25 days when he meets with Rail minister Huw Merriman on Monday.
But the RMT leader says 40,000 of his rail members - eight in ten on less than £40,000 a year - have no choice but to keep walking out unless a backdated four per cent pay offer is improved and jobs protected.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Mirror Mr Lynch, 60, said: “This is nothing less than a stuggle for survival and the future of the industry.
“If we roll over now there will be no guards on trains in two years and no ticket offices left.
“This is a turning point for the industry. But unlike the mines the railways aren’t going to disappear so this must be sorted out.”
Contrary to myth rail workers get no strike pay with only a hardship fund to fall back on for those in the direst straits after eight months in dispute.
Mr Lynch added: “It’s tough and they’re taking some blows. They lose all their wages and more in pension deductions so this is a big sacrifice.
“But no-one wants to give up. it’s more what to do next, not if we do it.”
The General Secretary has ruled out an indefinite strike so travellers can expect more of the two 48 hour stoppages they faced last week.
And he admits that if the Government insists on digging its heals in for the long term it is possible there will still be strikes next January.
As ministers refuse to put improved offers on the table Mr Lynch will be meeting the TUC and other striking unions this week to organise a synchronised day of action.
With so many unions now in dispute that could turn into the nearest thing to a General Strike since 1926 and put more pressure on the government to come up with more realistic offers.
But PM Rishi Sunak is hell bent on staring down the unions and trying to neuter them with draconian anti-strike legislation.
This would see unions sued by bosses and strikers dismissed if minimum levels of service during an industrial dispute were not maintained.
The unions are considering court action under human rights laws, and Mr Lynch says the public will never wear it.
He said: “They will be out on the streets protesting in the name of freedom and the ability tio organise.”
Behind his desk at RMT HQ near London’s Euston Station is the sign: “Protect the right to strike.”
Mr Lynch will not say what an acceptable offer is but he has settled disputes elsewhere for between seven and 9.5%.
Eurostar last year agreed to 8%, Scotrail up to 9%,Transport for Wales up to 9.5% and they kept their guards, Merseyrail 7%, MTR Crossrail: 8.2% and Docklands Light Railway:9.25%
And in 2021 Mr Lynch negotiated an 8.4% pay rise for London Underground.
He added: “In fact wherever the Department for Transport hasn’t been involved we’ve settled our differences.”
Yet there have been reports Network Rail which looks after track and the 14 operating companies running the trains have come tantalisingly close to agreements only for Transport Secretary Mark Harper to scupper them.
Mr Lynch said: “At the end of the day Mark Harper is the Fat Controller - although he is very thin and trim.”
The RMT boss as tied TV presenters in knots for trying to present him as a militant firebrand in the Arthur Scargill mould intent on bringing the government down.
His scathing comebacks have turned him into a celebrity. He said: “My three kids think that’s a bit peculiar like everyone else. But plain speaking resonates with people.”
He is neither a Communist nor a Marxist and when pressed on his politics confesses to being old Labour. But he is relaxed over Labour leader Keir Starmer not showing more active support as long as he supports working people when he becomes PM.
Mr Lynch added: “It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t turn out with us on a picket line on a cold and rainy morning.”
Rail management know Mr Lynch is no soft touch but see him as reasonable, competent and across details. His target is a “meaningful improvement in wages.”
His long-term solution to poor service on the railways is to end the £400million in profits owners take out. And to nationalise them.
