Rail workers across 14 train companies have announced that they will stage another walk-out next month which is due to take place the day before the FA Cup Final.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union confirmed that they plan to strike on Friday, June 2, as part of a long-running dispute with their employers over pay and working conditions. The major footballing event, which will see Manchester City face off against Manchester United, is taking place the following day on Saturday, June 3 at Wembley Stadium, with thousands of supporters expected to travel to London.
The RMT union strike on June 2 will see 20,000 railway workers take action, and is expected to cause huge disruption to train services across the country. Train drivers' union Aslef previously announced that they would be staging industrial action on June 3, which means that there will be no national rail services in place between Manchester and London on the day of the Final, according to the FA, who said they had secured 60 coaches for both clubs to help get supporters to the game.
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The RMT union said it found the latest offer put to workers by the Rail Delivery Group "unacceptable" as it confirmed the upcoming strike date. The union's general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The Government is once again not allowing the Rail Delivery Group to make an improved offer that we can consider.
"Therefore, we have to pursue our industrial campaign to win a negotiated settlement on jobs, pay and conditions. Ministers cannot just wish this dispute away.
"They underestimate the strength of feeling our members who have just given us a new six-month strike mandate, continue to support the campaign and the action and are determined to see this through until we get an acceptable resolution," the union chief added. "The Government now needs to unlock the RDG and allow them to make an offer that can be put to a referendum of our members."
The 14 train operators involved are:
- Chiltern Railways
- Cross Country Trains
- Greater Anglia
- LNER
- East Midlands Railway
- c2c
- Great Western Railway
- Northern Trains
- South Eastern
- South Western Railway
- Transpennine Express
- Avanti West Coast
- West Midlands Trains
- GTR (including Gatwick Express)
An RDG spokesperson said: "In recent discussions with the RMT, we have continued to stand by the fair, industry-level dispute resolution proposal agreed line by line with their negotiating team, which would have resolved this dispute and given our lowest-paid staff a rise of up to 13%. By calling more strike action, the RMT leadership have chosen to prolong this dispute without ever giving their members a chance to have a say on their own offer.
"Instead, they will be subject to yet more lost pay through industrial action, customers will suffer more disruption, and the industry will continue to suffer huge damage at a time when the railway is taking more than its fair share from taxpayers to keep trains running post-Covid.
"We remain open and willing to engage in national-level talks so that we can secure a pay rise for our people and the long-term future of an industry vital to Britain's economy."
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