Grant Shapps, secretary of transport, stated that rail strikes could be “easily resolved” by modernizing “outdated” working practices.
Calls for him to intervene in the ongoing dispute between the RMT transport union and rail employers were deemed a “red herring” and a “stunt” by him.
He stated that antiquated practices “had to end” for a resolution to be possible.
However, the RMT union stated that Mr. Shapps was “speaking nonsense.”
Mr. Shapps acknowledged that he and the Treasury had established an overall mandate dictating the number of available funds and that he had final approval over the terms.
However, he stated that he did not and would not interfere with the negotiations between the RMT and the industry, stating that “only the employers could end this strike.”
Thousands of RMT members who work for Network Rail and 13 train companies walked off the job on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday of the previous week.
On strike days, half of the rail network was closed, and as a result, subsequent days’ services were also disrupted. The union has warned that additional strike action may follow.
The Transport Secretary told that the dispute could “easily be resolved because there are so many modernizations of antiquated work practices – for instance, two vans are frequently dispatched to maintenance jobs when only one is required.”
Before Mr. Shapps’s remarks, the RMT stated in a statement that sending multiple vans “is both a safety and engineering standards issue.”
“Sending personnel to a location without their gear, equipment, and tools would be pointless, which is why vehicles and associated equipment are sent to site” in multiple vans.
The Transportation Secretary stated, “We want to modernize our railroads and make them digitally ready for the twenty-first century.” We also need the working practices of the 21st century concurrently; we can’t have a digital railway with 19th-century working practices.”
Mr. Shapps accused unions of preventing employees from filling out digital timesheets. Some train companies already include Sunday shifts as part of their normal schedule, but he stated that “those that don’t need to.”
“Network Rail plans to consult on the use of digital time sheets,” the RMT responded. They have not been rejected… We have no fundamental objections to the introduction. On other parts of the railways, we do use digital time sheets.” Additionally, it was previously stated that “in many companies, Sunday is considered part of the work week.”
The RMT has already rejected an offer for a 3 percent pay raise. Network Rail has insisted that more could be accomplished if modernized work procedures were adopted.
It has been stated that the 1,800 jobs that would be lost as a result of these reforms could most likely be eliminated through voluntary redundancy.
However, the union demands a guarantee that there will be no mandatory layoffs.
When asked why a written guarantee of no mandatory layoffs could not be presented, the Transport Secretary stated that the RMT needed to discuss the matter with employers.
However, he added, “in what industry would you be able to say that we will never have to lay off employees?” Previous voluntary redundancy programs had been oversubscribed, he noted.
Mr. Shapps refused to estimate the possible pay increase if all the proposed changes to working practices were implemented. He refused to comment on whether 7 percent would be excessive.
He acknowledged that he was aware of the amount of money available for a pay raise, but insisted that it was a negotiation issue for the employers. “I cannot discuss this on national television. If I did so, I would be intervening in these discussions.
Nonetheless, he added, “What we do know is that we’ve got a spike in inflation – we don’t want that to be built into the system and continue for years as it did in the 1970s.”
Mr. Shapps did not respond directly to the question of whether the government would be willing to invest additional funds if it provided the flexibility to prevent another stroke.
However, he stated, “We still employ working methods from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. And this must stop. The strike cannot be resolved until these things cease.”
He continued, “There are so many things that must be done to bring this railroad’s working practices up to date. Then, in a sense, that does provide the opportunity to reach a fair settlement.”
Because many people had spent the past two years working from home, he stated that the only people affected by strikes are those who are compelled to go to work: “the hospital porter, the cleaner, people who have no other choice.”
Mr. Shapps stated that the outcome of the dispute would impact the amount by which fares will increase next year.
“If we want decently low fare increases, we must, of course, reduce the costs of the railway, which means operating them more efficiently. I fear that all of these working practices from the steam era are now obsolete.”
Typically, annual fare increases on regulated tickets are calculated using the July RPI figure for the United Kingdom. The CPI increased to 11.7% in May. The fare hike for 2019 has not yet been determined.
