Transport secretary Mark Harper has claimed that the “tide was turning” against the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) as the latest rail strike begins.
Major disruption is expected as the RMT presses ahead with two 48-hour strikes at Network Rail – and 14 train companies – from Tuesday and Friday.
Mr Harper suggested RMT leadership was losing support among rail workers – saying almost 40 per cent of the union members voted in favour of an offer to resolve the dispute.
“Even with them [RMT leaders] recommending refusal, almost 40 per cent of their staff actually voted in favour of it – so I think the tide is turning on public opinion,” he told Times Radio.
The RMT announced on Monday that strikes would go ahead after 63.6 per cent of members had voted to reject Network Rail’s offer on an 83 per cent turnout.
Mick Lynch denied he was losing support for strikes, despite voted 91 per cent of members voting in favour of the strike mandate in October.
Asked if he accepted that support for strikes among members was falling, Mr Lynch told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “That’s what the government is telling you … We have a clear majority [for strikes].”
Pressed again if support was falling, the union boss said: “No, it’s not. We’ve got massive picket lines out today … Our members are standing by the call and they’re prepared to take action until we get a settlement we can agree to.”
Mr Lynch then accused the BBC of “parroting” government “propaganda”, claiming Today host Mishal Husain was repeating lines “directly taken from the propaganda of the other side”.
He compared the BBC’s coverage to “an editorial line I could read in The Sun or The Daily Mail or any of the right-wing press in this country”.
Trains are only running from 7.30am to 6.30pm on this week’s strike days, although many parts of the country will have no services, including most of Scotland and Wales.
With further walkouts planned, Network Rail has warned there will be significantly reduced services, with trains more crowded and likely to start later and finish earlier until 8 January.
YouGov’s most recent poll on the December and January train strikes found that 47 per cent of the public are against the industrial action on the railways, while 41 per cent support it.
Mr Lynch insisted his members still have the support of the public and said it is the government which is “spoiling of the people’s Christmas”. He told BBC Breakfast: “We understand the anger, but we are getting a lot of support from the public.”
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT union (Jonathan Brady/PA)
Network Rail had offered a 5 per cent pay rise for this year – backdated to January – with another 4 per cent at the start of 2023 and a guarantee of no compulsory job losses until January 2025.
The RMT leader rejected a suggestion that members are opposed to reform as he again accused the government of “deliberately obstructing” a deal.
“We’re not opposed to change – we deal with it all of the time”, he said, before adding that his union is “ready to make compromises” and still hopes for a settlement can be reached in the weeks ahead.
Mr Harper – who rejected reports that he blocked an offer of 10 per cent over two years – also held out hope of a deal. “I think there is a deal to be done, and I’m very happy to keep talking.”
But the transport secretary did not deny suggestions that the government had insisted on driver-only operation being a condition for an improved pay offer. “Reform has been on the table from the beginning of the process.”
The row comes as the latest official figures show 417,000 working days were lost to strikes in October – the highest number since 2011.
“That’s been largely driven by the rail and mail strikes,” Sam Beckett, head of economic statistics at the Office for National Statistics told the BBC.
