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Thousands of rail workers have spent the weekend doing nothing on full pay after the RMT union called off a series of national strikes at just hours’ notice.
In the coming days, many rail workers are likely to remain idle, with large parts of Britain without trains despite the suspension of industrial action.
No trains will run in many parts of Britain on Monday, with services drastically reduced on other lines.
Registration arrangements mean that drivers cannot be called at short notice.
However, much of the railway will be fully equipped:
- Many Network Rail signal boxes are staffed even when there is no scheduled train
- Guards are paid to sit in the dining rooms as there are no services to work
- Station ticket offices are staffed even in places where there are no trains
With ticket revenue at a tiny fraction of normal levels during the expected disruption, taxpayers will pick up the multi-billion pound wage bill.
The union had summoned members employed by Network Rail on Saturday 5, Monday 7 and Wednesday 9 November in their long-running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions.
Staff at 14 train operators were due to strike on November 5 and 9.
With cancellations inevitable on the eve of the stoppage and in the days following each strike, the schedule was designed to cause maximum disruption over an entire week for minimum loss of pay. The rail industry planned to run one in five trains on about half the network, with management and non-union staff operating a skeleton service.
But the strike was abruptly called off on Friday afternoon, with the union claiming it had secured concessions from management.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The threat of strike action and our heavily supported industrial campaign has made rail employers see sense.
“We have always wanted to achieve a negotiated settlement and that is what we will continue to push for in this next phase of intensive talks.”
On Saturday, the union said: “The suspension of the strike means our members are working today.”
But with “strike lists” already in place for the seven days between Friday 5 and Thursday 10 November, reinstatement of more than a fraction of the trains was impossible.
The RMT union has declined to comment. But on social media the union blamed employers for the late decision to call off the strike, saying: “The change of position in the negotiations came from the rail delivery group. [representing train operators] and Network Rail.
“If this had happened earlier, we would have reacted earlier.”
A rail industry insider said: “RMT management knew full well the damage they would cause by calling off their strike at the last minute.
“It gave the industry almost no time to try to restore services. Maximum disruption for passengers and financial pain for the taxpayer with no consequences. Trying to blame others now is dishonest.”
The planned cancellations began at 5.30pm on Friday and will continue for most of the week, with large parts of Britain seeing no trains on Monday and Wednesday.
Avanti West Coast, which runs trains between London Euston, the West Midlands, the north-west of England and southern Scotland, continues to ask passengers to “only travel by train if absolutely necessary” on Monday and Wednesday. Anyone attempting to travel is warned: “Your entire trip will likely be severely disrupted.”
Dozens of Avanti West Coast trains are canceled on Thursday morning, including the first six departures from Manchester to London.
A passenger in East Sussex, tweeting as @SuzyfrRye, wrote: “Looks like @RMTunion just got an extra 2-3 days paid holiday for their members and the passengers didn’t think twice.”
Another rail insider told The Independent: “This was a desperately cynical ploy by the RMT.
“A big concern is that calling strikes and then calling them off will become a standard union tactic, with the aim of causing serious damage to the railway without costing members a penny.”
The RMT reminds the traveling public: “The current dispute remains very much alive, and the union is continuing with the new vote of members to secure a new mandate for action with the result on 15 November.”