‘Beer and sandwiches’ to avoid train strikes

MINISTERS must take a “grown up” approach and meet union bosses to avoid Christmas rail strikes, the new Transport Secretary has said, in a return to the “beer and sandwiches” charm offensive of the 1970s.

Mark Harper suggested that the Government would soften its approach to union bosses, after months of ministers criticising Mick Lynch, the RMT general secretary, for his hardline approach to pay negotiations.

Writing in The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Harper insisted that striking workers would not receive an inflation-level pay rise because it would not be fair to taxpayers and would fuel inflation.

But in a departure from the policy of his predecessor, Grant Shapps, he said a rail minister would be “available to meet the parties and to help facilitate the agreement that we all want to see”.

He also called for a “grown up and good faith negotiation” and praised those taking industrial action as “key workers who kept the country moving during the pandemic”.

His intervention comes after his first meeting this week with Mr Lynch, who said that the pair had “started a dialogue” and had “got rid of the bellicose nonsense” of Mr Shapps, who once said the general secretary was determined to play the role of a “1970s union baron”.

Mr Harper suggests ministers may be more willing to take the approach of Harold Wilson, who met with union leaders in Downing Street over “beer and sandwiches” to resolve industrial disputes in the mid-1970s.

Fresh strikes by the Aslef union yesterday led to the railways grinding to a standstill, with drivers at 11 companies walking out in a row over pay.

More action is planned on four days the week before Christmas.

My priority as Transport Secretary is to end the industrial dispute that is disrupting our railways. The British public, indeed our entire economy, needs a solution that calls time on the inconvenience and misery of industrial action on our rail network. We need grown-up and good-faith negotiation, leading to a feasible deal for rail workers, passengers and taxpayers.

That’s why I spoke directly with the head of the RMT union last week. We identified common ground in building a growing and profitable railway. We spoke not just about a pay deal being within reach, but the significant challenges facing the rail industry and the steps we can take to address them.

As this dispute is between the employers (Network Rail and the train operating companies) and trade unions, it wouldn’t be right for ministers to get involved in detailed negotiations. We will continue to act as a facilitator between the employers and the unions, to encourage both parties to stay around the negotiating table until a reasonable deal is agreed.

I will work to improve communication between the negotiating parties to give us the best chance of a swift resolution. As I told the RMT this week, the rail minister will be available to meet the parties and to help facilitate the agreement that we all want to see.

The Government is willing to do its bit and I hope the unions will pause industrial action while fresh discussions take place. At the moment, passengers face four weeks of disruption during the festive period, thanks to eight days of further strikes and a union-imposed ban on its members working overtime.

It means many Christmas and New Year plans will be cancelled. Businesses, who continue to struggle post-pandemic, risk losing sales during their busiest period. Rail workers, whose careers rely on the industry attracting more passengers, will be the ones that pay the price as disillusionment with the railways grows. This path is not inevitable and I will do what I can to facilitate an agreement being reached.

The forthcoming disruption shows why we need reform. A reliable and modern seven-day-a-week railway cannot rely on the goodwill of drivers to volunteer for overtime. It also requires flexibility on how we deploy the workforce. Currently, some staff are contractually chained to empty ticket offices and cannot be moved to parts of the station where passengers most need them. And on the tracks, I want to see technology being used to spot and repair faults more quickly. This will reduce delays and make conditions safer for workers.

These reforms are essential to help fund the pay increases railway workers deserve. These are some of the key workers who kept the country moving during the pandemic. But any pay increases should be fair. Fair to other workers who have no prospect of the sort of pay rises rail unions are proposing. Fair to our economy as we fight to bring inflation under control. And fair to taxpayers, who have already given the industry £16billion in support since the pandemic and many of whom do not use the railways.

We have been listening to the concerns that the unions have raised, but this dispute has gone on long enough. Any resolution must reflect the economic climate we are in. We cannot simply throw more money at an outdated railway model and hope the problems go away. Irresponsible pay rises fuel inflation. Ultimately, it’s the most vulnerable that are hit the hardest by rising inflation. It’s unfair to ask taxpayers to shoulder that burden.

There is a way forward that meets everyone’s needs. We can modernise working practices to deliver for the lower passenger numbers post-Covid. And we can ensure that train workers continue to be paid fairly, that inflation is gripped and value for the taxpayer is delivered. This is what my ministerial team and I are determined to deliver.

Working practices must be modernised to deliver the railways we need