RMT press release, issued today

A SECOND strike by 12,000 Network Rail maintenance workers in Britain’s biggest rail union is set to go ahead this weekend after progress made in last-ditch talks with Network Rail was vetoed by the company’s own head office.

RMT’s talks team believed it had made sufficient progress on a number of key issues arising out of the long-running harmonisation dispute to be able to recommend a suspension of this weekend’s action.

However, a letter subsequently received from Network Rail head office failed to reflect the understandings reached in a number of crucial respects.

“It is reasonable to expect that the people you are sitting round the table with have the authority to negotiate, but the progress we thought we had made in talks at Network Rail on Tuesday has simply been vetoed from on high,” RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today.

“On a range of issues, including pay protection, we believed we had made enough progress to enable the union to call off the weekend’s strike, but when we received a letter that was supposed to confirm the progress made, some of the key items were simply not there.

“The only possible conclusion is that someone at a senior level in Network Rail would rather undermine their own negotiating team and see the weekend’s strike go ahead than allow the understandings we had reached to stand.

“That is shabby and underhanded and it undermines the faith the union should have in the talks process Network Rail is telling the world it is committed to.

“I have written urgently to Iain Coucher, the NR Chief Executive, urging him to re-instate the understandings we negotiated with his management team, but under the circumstances the union’s executive had no choice but to confirm that the weekend’s action will go ahead,” Bob Crow said.

ends

Note to editors: RMT members will not book on for shifts that commence between midday on Saturday July 26 and 17:59 on Sunday July 27. Members will also not undertake any overtime or ‘on-call’ work between 06:00 on Saturday July 26 and 06:00 on Monday July 28. Weekend maintenance work was brought to a virtual standstill during the first stoppage in the dispute, over the weekend June 14 and 15.