Talks would resume on Monday between the RMT and railway chiefs, with the union’s national executive committee pondering new strike dates as the prime minister backed plans to close the box office.
Services began to return to normal after a later start on Sunday due to the last of three national 24-hour strikes by Network Rail workers and 13 train operating companies on Saturday.
More departures could be called for the end of July. An RMT spokesman said the union would “evaluate and look at the next phase of the campaign.”
Speaking ahead of the G7 summit in Germany, Boris Johnson said that to justify the money spent on railways, including the £ 96 billion invested in the rail investment plan, “the traveling public and the taxpayer will want to see a reform and improvement in how the railways work ”and there could not be“ the business as always ”.
He told ITV News: “I can’t tell them responsibly that we will continue with our regular business, with the same old box office systems that are barely used, or sell a ticket every hour.”
The Department of Transportation has rejected TUC claims that the government had misled the public about its role in the dispute.
Legal opinion obtained by QC TUC Michael Ford said the transport secretary has “very broad powers” over what can be agreed between rail operators and unions, and “very important contractual power” to direct how disputes are handled. .
According to Ford’s legal opinion, the contractual provisions linking the train companies mean that they “do not have the freedom to negotiate the matters that have given rise to the current conflict.”
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “We always believed that Conservative ministers had the power to pull the strings of train companies, behind the scenes. And this legal opinion on rail contracts makes it so. confirms ”.
A DfT spokesman said this did not mean Grant Shapps should be involved in the negotiations, adding: “You have to set the limits of taxpayer support and finally sign any agreement, not participate in the negotiating one, and its contracts with the operators. allow it to do just that. “
Johnson’s intervention is likely to increase tensions between railroad unions, employers and the Department of Transportation after the refusal to rule out compulsory layoffs stemming from a planned modernization of rail services, including the closure of ticket offices.
Based on his role as mayor of London, when he struggled to close the box office of tube stations, Johnson added that the government is doing “pretty amazing things” on the railways, pointing to Crossrail and the integrated rail program.
“To justify paying this money, make these commitments. I think the traveling public and the taxpayer will want to see reform and improvement in the operation of the railways, ”he said.
Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy criticized the government for not negotiating, but also said it did not give categorical support to airline workers who have also voted in favor of the strike over wage demands.
As for the rail dispute, Lammy told the BBC: “This government is not negotiating. This government does not support reaching a compromise.”
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However, when asked if she supported the claims of British Airways billing and land staff at Heathrow who voted in favor of the strike to reinstate a 10% pay cut, Lammy replied: “No, no. I do. It’s a no. It’s a categorical no. “
He criticized Labor MPs who had joined the pickets. One, Nadia Whittome, announced Saturday that she would donate part of her salary to the local RMT strike fund.
The first results of the strike votes on another railway union, the TSSA, will be presented later this week, which could increase the dispute and the effects of any coordinated action. TSSA members include controllers and managers who have been acting as contingency and security personnel during RMT outings. The union began its first ballots on train companies serving Birmingham, the host city for next month’s Commonwealth Games, as well as Network Rail.
Meanwhile, drivers of the Aslef union will go on strike for pay on Tuesdays and Wednesdays on Croydon trams and next Saturday in Greater England.