Rail union says UK track owner reneged on deal, calls strikes

Britain faces further disruption to train services after a union called three days of national strikes and accused track owner Network Rail Ltd. of reneging on a planned pay settlement by moving to cut jobs.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers said Tuesday in an emailed statement that members will take action on Thursday Nov. 3 and the following Saturday and Monday.

Network Rail had agreed to negotiate a pay accord, the RMT said, only to seek to impose job cuts and less-sociable hours before writing directly to staff with an offer that had already been rejected. Mick Lynch, the union’s general secretary, accused the firm of “a crass attempt” to exclude it from talks.

Network Rail’s chief negotiator, Tim Shoveller, said in a separate statement that a two-year, 8% package including job guarantees through January 2025 was ready to be put to staff. Instead, the RMT “seem intent on more damaging strikes rather than giving their members a vote on our offer,” he said.

Britons have already endured months of turmoil on the railway as three major unions seek to pressure Network Rail and multiple train operating companies into a pay deal matching inflation, while securing guarantees against redundancies and wholesale changes to working hours.

The UK government is pushing rail firms to restructure operations after a system-wide slump in ridership as more people work from home following the coronavirus pandemic.

Shoveller said that the sector has a £2 billion hole in its budget that’s “not going to change anytime soon,” and that the proposed deal is “fair and affordable.”

Services on London’s Tube and Arriva Rail’s Overground network will be hit by separate actions on Nov. 3, the RMT said.