Tory ministers have been accused of blocking a 5% pay rise to rail workers that could have averted next week’s strikes.
Rail operators wanted to offer a 5% pay rise this year and another 5% next year - but were stopped from doing so by the government, sources told the Financial Times.
Instead unions were only offered 4% plus 4% - along with a last-minute demand for “driver-only” operation on trains. The Rail Delivery Group did not deny the story.
And RMT union general secretary Mick Lynch - who has warned of “indefinite” strikes if the Tories do not compromise - appeared to confirm it was correct.
He said rail firms told him “we’ve got to check in with Whitehall” before making their offer, but then told him: “We can't do what we said we were going to do.
“They have made us put driver only operation into this document, which we had withdrawn as managers, executives. They're insisting that it goes back in.
"And they won't let us make any [pay] offer that's different to the one you rejected in July with Network Rail - which is four plus four, it's just 4% for 2022 and 4% for 2023.”
Around 40,000 members of the RMT are due to walk out during two 48-hour stoppages on Tuesday and Wednesday next week and then December 16 and 17.
It will cause havoc with pre-Christmas train travel, with many lines running skeleton or no services. People have been warned only to travel if it is absolutely necessary.
Rail Delivery Group chairman Steve Montgomery said: “Regrettably, the RMT leadership’s refusal to put our proposed 8% pay offer to its membership means we are unable to reach a resolution at this stage, although we remain open to talks.
“With the deadline having passed where disruption could be avoided even if strikes were called off, our focus is on giving passengers the maximum possible certainty so they can make their festive plans.
“No one wanted to see these strikes go ahead, and we can only apologise to passengers and to the many businesses who will be hit by this unnecessary and damaging disruption.
“We continue to urge RMT leaders to put our proposals to their members rather than condemning them to weeks of lost pay either side of Christmas during a cost-of-living crisis.”
Britain is rocked by pre-Christmas strikes from posties, nurses, paramedics, other NHS staff, railway workers and Border Force.
But speaking today, Rishi Sunak appeared to rule out meeting union demands for public sector workers to head off strikes before Christmas.
He told reporters: "The Government is always going to try and act fairly and reasonably.
"What I'm not going to do is ask ordinary families up and down the country to pay an extra £1,000 a year to meet the pay demands of the union bosses. That wouldn't be right and it wouldn't be fair."
The PM once again threatened "tough new laws" that could impose minimum service levels on striking 999 workers - but refused to give any detail.
The PM's deputy spokesman restated that the government was "looking at tough new laws" but added: "I'm not in a position today to set out any details as we're still working on them.
"The minimum service legislation is in Parliament.
"It's for the Leader of the House to set out the timeline for that to progress through Parliament."
Labour sources say the party would fight any minimum service laws - and repeal them if Keir Starmer gets into No10, despite him not committing to a repeal when asked yesterday.
