Our Ref: BR2/10/1

7th June 2022

RMT CALLS STRIKE ACTION

Dear Colleague,

DEFEND JOBS, PAY AND CONDITIONS – GREAT WESTERN RAILWAY

Firstly, I would like to congratulate you and your colleagues for achieving this monumental vote for industrial action, which has sent a clear message to the company that we demand job security, a decent and substantial pay reward and for our terms and conditions to be protected.

During the global pandemic the rail industry were keen to promote you and your colleagues as key workers. To use your hard work in their propaganda, and their praise of a continued service, despite the horrific situation that not only the country, but the whole world was experiencing.

You and your colleagues continued to work during the pandemic, ensuring the railways moved to allow key workers, such as yourself to continue working. During this period the railway has continued to make substantial profits, despite the rail industry being at an all time low for passenger numbers and ticket sales. However, now that it is time to reward the people who kept the railway moving and kept the profits coming in for Great Western Railway, management have gone silent and the company no longer has any money to guarantee your jobs security or reward your hard work with a substantial pay increase.

In my previous correspondence I outlined that I would be raising the issue at an industrywide level. I have since been in discussions with the Rail Industry Recovery Group with the aim of creating a framework and structure for negotiations and discussions on all the issues at the heart of this dispute.

However, during these discussions no firm commitments have been obtained from Network Rail or any Train Operating Company on Job Security, nor has any pay proposal been put forward by any company. During discussions on this issue all the companies have indicated that they wish to pursue their full agenda of “workforce reform” and cuts through a transition process.

Considering the lack of tangible progress through these discussions the Union’s National Executive Committee has considered this matter further. The NEC believe that Great Western Railway are not taking the situation seriously and that we must now take industrial action. The NEC has decided to instruct all members of all grades, in all locations, to take 3 periods of 24-hour strike action.

Therefore, ALL Great Western Railway members are instructed to not to book on for any shifts that commence between:

0001 Hours and 2359 Hours on Tuesday 21st June 2022
0001 Hours and 2359 Hours on Thursday 23rd June 2022
0001 Hours and 2359 Hours on Saturday 25th June 2022

I urge you all to stand shoulder to shoulder during the days of industrial action. All members, branches, regions, representatives, and officers are instructed to continue to make active preparations for the industrial action set out and to prepare for effective picketing regimes during this phase of action. Further information will be distributed to members on picketing locations and members should speak with their local representatives or branches.

The company has been advised that, as always, the Union is readily available for meaningful negotiations with the employer on this issue and we urge the company to make tangible and definite proposals at the earliest opportunity.

You and your colleagues deserve better and now we must take a stand to demand better.

HARD WORK DESERVES FAIR PAY
SUPPORT THE ACTION
UNITY IS STRENGTH

Yours sincerely

Michael Lynch
General Secretary

Are you suggesting that Royal Ascot and Henley Regatta were deliberately avoided? 

I don’t think the government have any intention of resolving this dispute and are prepared to let them strike hurting both the rail industry and it’s workers and in the end the cuts will still go through.

You may have seen that the RMT (Rail, Maritime and Transport Trade Union) have today announced that they have asked members to take strike action on Tuesday 21 June, Thursday 23 June and Saturday 25 June.   The dates are the same across all Train Operators providing services for the Department for Transport (DfT) and Network Rail, and they coincide with strikes on the London Underground (21 June) as well as Glastonbury Festival in the South West between Wednesday 22 June and Sunday 26 June.
 
We thought it might be helpful to share with you both the Rail Delivery Group release  https://media.raildeliverygroup.com/news/rmt-urged-to-call-off-strikes-and-stay-at-the-table
and Network Rail’s national release with comments from Andrew Haines, Network Rail Chief Executive https://www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk/news/talks-continue-in-rail-dispute
 
We are now working on the impacts and GWR will issue a further update next week with more details about train services.   We anticipate most rail services will be affected and we will be advising customers to consider their plans and to check before they travel. Any train services that we do operate are likely to be extremely busy.  Anything you can do to help spread that message would be much appreciated. 
 
While strike days have been announced we are committed to keep talking with Trades Union colleagues to work together for a sustainable railway for our future. We’re doing everything we can to avoid strike action on the railway. There are a few weeks until the first strike is planned. We will use this time to keep talking to our unions and, through compromise and common sense on both sides, we hope to find a solution and avoid the damage that strike action would cause all involved.

Will tfl services (Crossrail) be impacted by the strike in the latter part of the week or should those services be running after the 21st?

In quoting headline pay, unions ignore the annual value of the generous defined benefit pensions — deferred salary — and a huge part of overall pay for rail staff. Not only are rail pensions guaranteed they still have a retirement age of 60 and unlimited annual inflation increases. After a member's own contributions, the annual cost to rail companies — and ultimately taxpayers — is more than 50 per cent of salary. Meanwhile, even the most generous private sector defined contribution pensions have employer contributions of 15 per cent of salary, and most are much lower.

The answer to any pay squeeze for rail staff is simple: reduce the generosity of future pensions by closing the defined benefit scheme and moving to defined contributions, and then use some of the savings to increase pay.

It may start moving the conversation in areas that railway unions and those working in it would find uncomfortable. For example this letter from independent pensions expert John Ralfe in The Times today:

Seriously?

The Rail Pension Scheme (RPS) which has its origins from BR Pension Fund still exists, it is currently protected in the 1993 Act "the indefensible right" this was brought about by Robert Maxwell and the fraudulent activates that happened to Mirror Group pension fund that was discovered when he fell off of his Yachet.  Some rail pension scheme benefits are lost if someone moves rail employer, I have moved mine 3 times since 1998.

Of all of the Nationalised industries pension schemes the RPS was the only one that was not "robbed" by the treasury during the privatisation process, the miners, power industry, teaches all had their funds raide; the Unions are concerned that the Government will raid the RPS during the formation of GBR .........................

The RPS is no longer a true final salary scheme, the contribution % by the employee are quite high but it's matched by the employer.

I genuinely didn't even realise those sort of "gold plated" pensions still existed......certainly not able to be taken at 60!

That's 7 years before retirement age for most others!

I can imagine the reaction of Bruvver Lynch et al though if moves were made to bring these pensions into line with those the rest of us have to look forward to, without the benefit of being financed and the risk borne by the taxpayer.

I genuinely didn't even realise those sort of "gold plated" pensions still existed......certainly not able to be taken at 60!

That's 7 years before retirement age for most others!

I can imagine the reaction of Bruvver Lynch et al though if moves were made to bring these pensions into line with those the rest of us have to look forward to, without the benefit of being financed and the risk borne by the taxpayer.

Such 'gold plated' pensions were not just public sector.  Once upon a time many private sector employers offered such pensions.  They were encouraged by government to make up for the fact that the UK had and still has one of the lowest state pension payments anywhere in Europe.


When UK governments started to look at surpluses in pension funds in the 1980's they decided these were a tax dodge so Norman Lamont introduced new rules which meant that employers with what government saw as excessive surpluses were required to either improve benefits or take contribution holidays.  Twenty years on and investment returns were not as good employers started to have problems and needed to put more money it to fund deficits.  Much blame was placed on Gordon Brown as chancellor, but the damage was done much earlier.

As a trustee of one such fund that took a contribution holiday were were advised that were it not for that government interference that forced us to take a contribution holiday the fund would not have the massive deficit. 

In a different fund where I am a member the private company could not support the deficit and I am left with a much reduced pension because it has gone into the pension protection fund. 

So government failed to fund pensions then sabotaged the system that made up for this. 

Seriously?

I genuinely didn't even realise those sort of "gold plated" pensions still existed......certainly not able to be taken at 60!

That's 7 years before retirement age for most others!

I can imagine the reaction of Bruvver Lynch et al though if moves were made to bring these pensions into line with those the rest of us have to look forward to, without the benefit of being financed and the risk borne by the taxpayer.

What happens to union members who were due to start work at say 20-00 on the evening before a strike day.
Are they expected to turn up as usual and walk out at midnight ?
Or not to turn up at all.

Likewise, what about those due to start work at say 22-00 on a strike day ? Delay starting work until midnight ?

Or to take the extreme case, what about a worker booked for an 8 hour shift, of which 7.5 hours fall into the 24 hour strike period, and 30 minutes into the following or preceeding non strike day.

What happens to union members who were due to start work at say 20-00 on the evening before a strike day.
Are they expected to turn up as usual and walk out at midnight ?
Or not to turn up at all.

Likewise, what about those due to start work at say 22-00 on a strike day ? Delay starting work until midnight ?

Or to take the extreme case, what about a worker booked for an 8 hour shift, of which 7.5 hours fall into the 24 hour strike period, and 30 minutes into the following or preceeding non strike day.

For non BR staff it is currently 62. Bear in mind the shift pattern that workers do. Wrecks the body. Many have blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. How does a body cope with finishing late, at say 1am on a Sunday morning, having a 'day off' and booking on at 3am on the Monday morning? Not all the time but does happen, more frequently then it should. Imagine doing that for 40+ years.

I have long felt that the present shift pattern for railway work is a powerful disincentive to recruitment and retention of staff, and it does indeed have health consequences.

A far better policy in my view would be largely fixed working hours. Some of these hours would be anti social, but in my view fixed anti social shifts are preferable to continual changes.
Regularly starting work at say 03-00 and working until say 11-00 would in my view be preferable to the present arrangements. Overtime working by mutual agreement could consist of EITHER working 6 such shifts in a week rather than 5 shifts, or alternatively starting at say 01-00 instead of at 03-00.

I know of someone who left the railway and now works in a power station. The PERMANENT night shifts rather than an endlessly changing shift pattern was the main reason for the change.

Do GWR provide rail replacment buses on strike days?

We are not able to provide bus replacement services.

Do GWR provide rail replacment buses on strike days?

GWR have announced on their website that the Night Riviera sleeper service is cancelled for the whole week between 20th and 24th June.  However they will run on Sunday 19th into the 20th.

Rail strikes spell travel trouble for Glastonbury – and small events fear ‘catastrophe’

.....GWR, the train company serving Castle Cary, the station closest to Glastonbury, has said it hopes to maintain timetabled trains from London Paddington throughout the festival. But it said other parts of its network were likely to be “more affected” by the strike action and that customers “may need to consider alternative ways to travel to a station serving Castle Cary”.....

The fallacy in the Unions' claim is that inflation will blip, over the next year, falling away after. As an example gas wholesale prices peaked about 550p/therm and have now fallen back to c150p/therm. Once the other markets have settled, similar reductions will follow.

So it seems available resources may be being concentrated on the PAD - Castle Cary service over other services.

What will happen with Bristol to Weymouth services, which also serve Castle Cary? They always have huge demand from Glastonbury users as well, and if Paddington to the West Country services are reduced, there will be additional pressure from other passengers wanting to transfer onto them instead and then change at Castle Cary.

Glastonbury already has a massive traffic problem during festival week. Without trains running to bring festival goers it would be even worse. I’m sure we will learn this week what GWR’s plans are. They’ve known for a while strikes were coming and would likely affect Glastonbury week.

I think it's safe to say that any trains that do run within striking distance of Glastonbury will be packed beyond belief and certainly beyond safety.

I wonder if there will be the usual boarding control at Paddington? Will there be any staff available to supervise it? What happens at Reading?

This sort of uncertainty and chaos of course is exactly what the RMT are counting on - hence the choice of dates.

For the sake of safety, it may be worth GWR simply saying that people shouldn't count on any trains running to Castle Cary and that they should make other arrangements.

Rail workers inundate voluntary redundancy scheme – despite strikes over job cuts

A voluntary redundancy scheme for rail workers has been inundated with more than 5,000 applications, casting doubt over union bosses’ reasons for launching the most aggressive strike action in a generation.

Rail managers invited requests for voluntary redundancy last autumn as part of efforts to reduce the burden on taxpayers caused by the pandemic.

Figures seen by The Telegraph show that train operators received 2,949 applications to quit. A further 2,159 applied for the scheme at Network Rail, the state-backed owner of tracks and stations.

Though the number of voluntary redundancies sought by managers is closely guarded, it is understood that applications outstripped places by roughly two to one at Network Rail.

Meanwhile, train operators confirmed that “we had more people express an interest in the scheme than we were initially able to accept”.

Union chiefs insisted voluntary redundancy programmes had only been offered to management grade personnel at Network Rail.

Nevertheless, the number of applications, released under freedom of information laws, calls into question claims by “militant” trade union chiefs that rail leaders are imposing unwanted job cuts to reduce costs.

The figures also suggest that the organisation leading the dispute - the Rail, Maritime and Transport workers union (RMT) - is now facing an existential crisis as members scramble to quit Britain's rail sector.

Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail said: “We know there is huge latent demand within Network Rail for people to leave and move on - it’s mainly an age profile thing - and it could be unlocked by the trades unions.

“Without flexibility from them, we won't be able to make the savings that will permit us to open a voluntary severance scheme for their members. We hope they'll settle down to some meaningful negotiations that could make any suggestion of compulsory redundancies, null and void.”

Between 40,000 and 50,000 RMT members will walkout on June 21, 23 and 25, disrupting Glastonbury Festival, the Headingley test match, and  those making their way to Armed Forces Day celebrations on June 25.

Strike action by Network Rail signal workers – the first such action in more than three decades – will cripple the train network and bring services to a near-standstill. 

The industrial action will cost the Exchequer £100m in loss fare revenue and deliver an estimated £450m hit to the UK economy.

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary said this weekend that agency staff may be used to break “Marxist” union strikes - but will not prevent significant disruption later this month.

Strike action on the railways intensified last week as train drivers union Aslef also launched strikes in June and July on Hull Trains, Greater Anglia and the Croydon Tramline.

A third union, the TSSA, is balloting for a walkout that could cripple the network completely in July as Birmingham prepares to host the Commonwealth Games.

Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, is under orders from the Treasury to reduce the burden of running the railways on taxpayers after more than £16bn was spent keeping services running during the pandemic.

A spokesman for the Department for Transport said: “The industry is looking at several ways of making the railway sustainable for the long term – staffing costs is just one area of this.

“We once again want to urge the unions to come to talks with the rail industry so we can work together to build a better, more modern, passenger-focused, railway.”

A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators: “The rail industry launched a voluntary exit scheme, the first of its kind, last year, in recognition that some colleagues wanted to use the skills and expertise they have built in our industry elsewhere.

“We had more people express an interest in the scheme than we were initially able to accept.”

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The only voluntary severance programme so far has been among managers and the total job losses among them up to this point has been over 2,500.

“There has been no voluntary severance exercise among RMT members.

“RMT is continuing dialogue with Network Rail on their ideas for cost savings but we remain opposed to job cuts, we will defend our conditions and we want a pay rise."

Rail workers union TSSA has announced that its members will vote on strike action to take place towards the end of July affecting most major London rail stations including London Bridge, Charing Cross and Euston. On Tuesday (June 14) the union said members would be balloted on action that could see services at London's biggest termini, including Kings Cross, Liverpool Street, Paddington, Victoria and Waterloo, severely disrupted all summer.

The dispute is over pay and conditions as the union claims its members working at Network Rail, the public body which looks after railway infrastructure in England, have not had a pay increase for at least two years. It is also calling for a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.

This industrial action, which would see over 6,000 staff across the country walk out, would take place from July 25 at the earliest, exactly one month after larger action by the RMT, which will see 50,000 staff walk out over three days across the railway network in England, including a co-ordinated Tube strike on June 21. Should the TSSA members vote to strike, it would mean disruption for rail travel in the capital for the entire summer, as this vote can allow the union to prolong the industrial action if the dispute over pay and conditions is not resolved after the initial strike.

In London, this action would affect nearly all National Rail services because the majority of them start and terminate at the termini stations where staff would walk out. Even if the government's proposed legislation is approved to allow agency staff to replace the staff on the picket lines, disruption would still continue because agency staff would be unable to fill the highly technical roles which are critical to running the railway, such as signalling, operations control and heavy maintenance.

TSSA General Secretary Manuel Cortes said: "We could be seeing a summer of discontent across our railways if Network Rail don't see sense and come to the table to face the concerns of their staff. Network Rail staff are asking for basic fair treatment: not to be sacked from their jobs; a fair pay rise in the face of a cost-of-living crisis; and no race to the bottom on terms and conditions. Fat cat bosses have so far refused these completely reasonable requests, leaving us with no option other than to ballot for industrial action, something which is always a last resort."

The TSSA union is also in dispute with three rail operators which operate in and out of London: Avanti West Coast, East Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, which means strikes could also take place on these services too.

The ballot (vote on whether to strike) opens on June 20 and closes on July 11, with strike action taking place as soon as July 25 if a 'yes' vote wins. Some Network Rail office staff who are TSSA members at Blackfriars, Stratford and Waterloo are also being balloted.

Thousands more railway workers will vote on whether to go on strikes which threaten travel chaos this summer.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) plans to ballot more than 6,000 staff at Network Rail (NR).

It is part of a dispute over pay, conditions and job security. Other rail unions will strike next week in what is the biggest walkout in three decades.

A Department for Transport spokesman said strikes should be a last resort and urged TSSA to reconsider.

Network Rail said: "Now is not for time for the TSSA to be jumping on the RMT strike bandwagon."

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at NR and 13 train operators will go on strike for three days from 21 June.

The RMT and Unite are also holding a one-day strike on the London Underground on the same day as the first rail strike, in a separate row over jobs and pay.

Travel misery

Train strikes, cancelled flights and record-breaking petrol prices have thrown getaway plans into disarray and threaten a summer of travel misery.

The TSSA has previously announced strike ballots among its members at four rail companies - Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands and West Midlands Trains.

Meanwhile, members of the drivers union Aslef are also striking later this month at Hull Trains, Greater Anglia and Croydon Tramlink.

TSSA members at NR work in operational, control, management and safety critical roles on rail services across Britain.

They are being asked to cast two votes - one on strike action and another on action short of a strike. The ballot opens on 20 June and closes on 11 July.

In the event of a yes vote, strike action could be held from 25 July.

'Summer of discontent'

The TSSA is demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for 2022, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living.

It said NR staff last had a pay rise between two and three years ago, although it varies between grades, and also worked throughout the coronavirus pandemic as key workers.

TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: "We could be seeing a summer of discontent across our railways if Network Rail don't see sense and come to the table to face the concerns of their staff."

He added Network Rail only responded to the union's requests for pay talks, made before Christmas, when it moved the issue to dispute in April.

'No-strings pay offer'

But a spokesman for Network Rail said positive pay talks were in full swing with a 'no-strings' pay offer of 2.5% on the table with the potential for more if targets were hit.

A Department for Transport spokesman said it was "hugely disappointing and premature that the TSSA is balloting for industrial action when talks have only just begun".

He added: "Train travel for millions more people is now a choice, not a necessity. Strikes stop our customers choosing rail, and they might never return.

He urged the TSSA to reconsider and go to industry talks in a bid to find a solution for workers, passengers and taxpayers.

But a spokesman for Network Rail said positive pay talks were in full swing with a 'no-strings' pay offer of 2.5% on the table with the potential for more if targets were hit.

We promised to update you further on the impact of the RMT strike action, and you may well have seen the national update at 1030 this morning by Network Rail and the Rail Delivery Group.
 
Network Rail has been working hard to cover signal boxes to keep as many routes open as possible on the strike days (Tuesday 21 June, Thursday 23 June and Saturday 25 June). 
 
This is not possible in all areas and there are some routes where rail services will not operate, in other areas a limited service will run, but will start later and finish much earlier.   There will also be a reduced service on the days between and after the strike, Wednesday 22 June, Friday 24 June and Sunday 26 June. 
 
Our dedicated web page www.gwr.com/strike now has an overview of the timetable for each region and clear maps showing where services are operational.  This is a dedicated web page which we will keep updated throughout the week.   In addition, Network Rail are now entering timetable changes into the national timetable database, and detailed changes to weekday services will be available in online journey planners from Friday 17 June, and for weekend services from Saturday 18 June.
 
We are recommending that even where services are possible customers should only travel if absolutely necessary, services will be busy, and there will not be any replacement road transport.   It is also important to note that there could be further changes, even on the day, particularly if cover cannot be maintained for signal boxes, where routes will need to stop operating.
 
We understand the impact that these changes will have on customer journeys, and we know it will mean making alternative plans for many.  We will therefore be doing all we can to alert customers to the changes, so they have time to plan. Any help you can give us with that would be very gratefully received.
 
Please signpost anyone to the webpage for more information -  www.gwr.com/strike - and do email us if you need any clarification, have any questions or any queries.
 
This is going to be a very difficult week for our customers, we will do all we can to help, but the impact will be significant.

Hmmm....that page does tell you that they haven't, and when they will be available!

Commuters will be told not to travel by train next week as the entire network is set to be crippled by the largest strike in more than 30 years.

In a major announcement on Wednesday, train operating companies are expected to urge people to avoid all travel on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday as services will be drastically reduced.

Network Rail is set to lay out a new schedule, with services cut by 80 per cent, and to announce that all journeys will have to be completed by 6.30pm.

Southeastern, one of Britain’s biggest rail operators, has already written to passengers asking them to avoid travelling on strike days because most of its routes and stations will be closed, while c2c rail will advise passengers to “only travel if necessary”.

Bosses at South Western Railway were still having “live conversations” about their plans on Tuesday night, but will most likely ask passengers to avoid travelling. Other operators are expected to make similar announcements.

It will force schools and hospitals to urgently assess how they can continue to operate, with the risk of a return to online lessons and the cancellation of non-emergency medical appointments.

Industry sources said on Tuesday night that train companies were coming under substantial pressure from ministers to avoid putting out “do not travel” notices because Grant Shapps, the transport minister, “doesn’t want to give in to the unions”.

They are being urged to keep services running wherever possible. However, sources said: “We will have to tell them not to travel because if we have people turning up as normal to stations expecting to get on a train we will have a major problem.”

‘Completely unsafe to run any trains during strike’

Union sources said that the entire network would have to be shut down during the strike for safety reasons. They described suggestions of even a 20 per cent service as “optimistic” and said that it was “completely unsafe to run any trains” because of the sheer number of safety critical staff going on strike. 

It comes as thousands more railway workers are to be balloted for strikes which could hit in July.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) has served notice to ballot more than 6,000 staff at Network Rail in a dispute over pay, conditions and job security. In the event of a yes vote, strike action could be held from July 25.

Passengers have been advised not to travel on trains unless necessary during strikes next week, with only a fifth of services due to run.

Network Rail said about half of all rail lines will be closed when thousands of workers walk out across Britain on 21, 23 and 25 June.

The services that run will start and finish earlier, from 07:30 to 18:30.

There will be no trains at all in many places including north from Glasgow or Edinburgh and to Penzance in Cornwall.

Network Rail, which owns and maintains the country's railways, said there would also be no passenger services to locations including Bournemouth in Dorset, Swansea in south Wales, Holyhead in north Wales, Chester in Cheshire and Blackpool in Lancashire.

Open lines include the West Coast Main Line from London to Scotland via locations such as Birmingham and Manchester.

However, with trains running for shorter hours on strike days, final departures will be much earlier than usual. For example, the last train from Manchester to London will leave at 14:47 and the last from Norwich to London at 16:00, with the last train from London to Edinburgh at 15:00.

Rural and district lines will be most affected by the action.

The timetable from 20 June to 26 June is still being finalised, but the number of services is expected to be around 4,500 compared with 20,000 normally, Network Rail said.

Disruption is also expected to carry over into non-strike days during the week, when only about 60% of services are expected to run.

This is due to not enough staff being on shift overnight to get services ready for the following day.

Several train operators including Southeastern, TransPennine and Avanti West Coast have urged passengers to only travel by rail if necessary, while Northern has asked people "not to travel" on trains between Tuesday and Sunday.

Several large events could be affected by the strikes, ranging from Glastonbury Festival, which runs from 22 to 26 June, to a cricket Test match between England and New Zealand taking place from 23 to 27 June.

Pensioner Linda is supposed to be travelling by train from Great Yarmouth to London for a Rolling Stones concert on 25 June.

She paid £100 per ticket, and there are four people due to go. However, she is not sure if there is any way for her to get there now.

"If I was to book a coach, it would cost a lot more - plus increase the travel time; two-and-a-half hours on the train becomes five to six hours on a coach," she told the BBC. "And there's no way we'd get to the concert in time."

She is still hoping she will be able to travel - the train company issued her a notification that an emergency timetable would be released on Friday.

More than 40,000 RMT union members from Network Rail and 13 train firms plan to walk out. The industrial action, which has been described as the "biggest rail strike in modern history", involves union members which include railway staff such as guards and signalling operators.

RMT announced the strike action last week after talks over pay and redundancies fell through.

On the first day of the planned strike on 21 June, London Underground RMT workers plan to walk out in a separate dispute over pensions and job losses.

Andrew Haines, Network Rail chief executive, said talks with the union had "not progressed as far as I had hoped" and so preparations had begun for a strike.

He called the action "needless" and said it would have a "damaging impact".

"Make no mistake, the level of service we will be able to offer will be significantly compromised and passengers need to take that into account and to plan ahead and only travel if it's really necessary to do so," he said.

The strikes may be less disruptive for commuters, with more people now able to work from home since the pandemic.

But the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators, said "millions of people", including those who cannot work remotely, students sitting exams and others travelling for summer events, would still be affected.
_____________________________________________________

Analysis by Katy Austin

The mood music right now is that not enough progress has been made in negotiations to stop next week's walkouts.

Assuming they go ahead, there will be disruption across the whole week.

The involvement of Network Rail signalling staff means the number of trains that can run is particularly limited.

On strike days, the signallers' replacements can only cover 12 hours, hence services will start late and finish early - where they run at all.

Busy, key routes have been prioritised, meaning vast swathes of the country will be left with no services at all.

Network Rail says next week's action will cost up to £150m in lost revenue and aborted work.
_______________________________________________________________________

The RMT union has claimed Network Rail plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs as part of a £2bn reduction in spending, with the proposed job cuts including workers who maintain tracks, signals and overhead lines.

It also said train operators had been subject to pay freezes and changes to their terms and conditions.

On Tuesday, RMT called for a meeting with the transport secretary and chancellor, saying it had become clear that the Treasury was "calling the shots and not allowing rail employers to reach a negotiated settlement".

But a deal is "unlikely at the moment", said RMT's Eddie Dempsey, who accused the government of "relishing the thought of having a dispute to distract from some other issues".

Downing Street has previously branded the action selfish and said the union's move was "thoroughly irresponsible".

The rail industry is under pressure to save money due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic and Network Rail has said it wants to modernise working practices.

It estimated between 1,500 and 2,000 fewer staff would be needed, but insists this could be achieved through voluntary means.

As part of a separate strike, Aslef, a union representing train drivers, has announced walkouts at three companies in rows over pay on 26 June at Hull Trains, at Greater Anglia on 23 June, and on Croydon Tramlink on 28, 29 June and 13 and 14 July.

Network Rail have produced this map showing the lines they will be able to open, presumably using the few non-striking staff capable of working as signallers.

I know of someone who left the railway and now works in a power station. The PERMANENT night shifts rather than an endlessly changing shift pattern was the main reason for the change.

Network Rail have produced this map showing the lines they will be able to open, presumably using the few non-striking staff capable of working as signallers.

Given that GWR are saying "check journey planners" is there any way to determine when the journey planners are showing the proposed emergency timetable?

I'm not sure if I'm seeing the "real" one for the 21st and it's quite confusing.

Given that GWR are saying "check journey planners" is there any way to determine when the journey planners are showing the proposed emergency timetable?

I'm not sure if I'm seeing the "real" one for the 21st and it's quite confusing.

If you look at the map you will see the TransWilts line is show as open on strike days but Melksham Station as closed.   That is because IETs will be used to run the service and they still can't stop there.

GWR's site now has a page of more detailed plans, including the dates for publishing the timetables to journey planners.

Strike/non-day    Date                          Publication
Non-strike day    Monday 20 June       Thursday 16 June
 Strike day         Tuesday 21 June      Thursday 16 June

Agreed but when on the 16th - I look now and I'm still not convinced it's the emergency timetable so to the less informed they may make judgements based on this information. Sorry I sound exasperated and I do accept the challenges in providing the information but in my mind wrong information (ie what is currently in journey planners) is worse than none.

As always with these things there are winners and losers.   If the scheduled timetable runs as planned there are more through trains to the West of England from Swindon than usual.  As it happens I will already be in Cornwall so it won't benefit me!

GWR Revised strike day timetables for the 21st and 23rd are now available to view in the Journey planner/train timetable viewer of your choice.

The good news is that there will be more trains through Melksham than usual.  The bad news is than none of them will be stopping ... and to add icing to that cake (or insult to injury), there is no rail replacement bus service and no arrangement for train tickets to be accepted on service buses either.

Sometimes the feeling is "tails you loose, heads you don't win".   When SWR took off the services from Bradford-on-Avon to Waterloo, they gave the excuse that there was little commuter or school traffic on them (mostly leisure and personal/business use).    Now GWR are canning our trains - much used by commuters and with school traffic on them too in favour of leisure trains for such things as Glastonbury, and longer distance traffic which is predominantly personal business use.   Why can't First companies be consistent??

Why can't First companies be consistent??

Does anyone know where I can find PDFs of the strike day timetables?

Sadly GWR don’t believe in producing timetables at times of disruption, engineering work or industrial action and haven’t done so for many years despite at one time being one of the best TOCs for doing so. We are always told to consult journey planners for times of trains.

Every TOC website that I’ve visited that’s affected by next week’s strike action have published revised timetables. Why can’t GWR?

These are exceptional circumstances Graham, ....

I understand that.  Just as we have had "exceptional circumstances" nearly every year since the published timetable increased in December 2013.  If it's not Box Tunnel closed, it's staff shortage. And if it's not a reduced Covid timetable it's the Berks and Hants closed. Or perhaps it's the signal cables were cut or the staff going on strike or Westbury station being shut so they can relay it.  All of those rather longer than just a day or two. 

I sometimes feel that an "exceptional circumstance" would be a summer with running all day throughout.

Not forgetting the apparently surprising need to train staff on the new trains, or the need for extra staff on a 10 car IET, Easter arriving without warning, or new trains getting drowned at Dawlish, and of course seasonal weather which no one could have foreseen.

In the past few weeks, discussions have been taking place at senior level with Network Rail, Train Operators and London Underground.

Despite the best efforts of our negotiators no viable settlements to the disputes have been created.

It has to be re-stated that the source of these disputes is the decision by the Tory Government to cut £4bn of funding from our transport systems - £2bn from national rail and £2bn from Transport for London.

As a result of this transport austerity imposed by the Government, the employing companies have taken decisions to:

    Savage the Railway Pension Scheme and the TFL scheme, cutting benefits, making staff work longer, and poorer in retirement, while paying increased contributions.
    Thousands of job cuts across the rail networks.
    Attacking terms, conditions and working practices in a form of internal fire and re-hire.
    Cutting real pay for most of our members through lengthy pay freezes and below RPI inflation pay proposals.

In the face of this massive attack on our people the RMT cannot be passive.

So today, having heard the reports on the discussions that have been taking place we are confirming that the strike action scheduled to take place on 21st, 23rd and 25th June will go ahead.

We want a transport system that operates for the benefit of the people, for the needs of society and our environment – not for private profit.

We call on our members to stand firm, support the action, mount the pickets and demonstrate their willingness to fight for workplace justice.

Every worker in Britain deserves a pay rise that reflects the cost-of-living crises. All working people should have the benefit of good negotiated terms, conditions, working practices and occupational pensions that will ensure their living standards in retirement.

We call on the entire labour movement and the working people to rally to the support of the RMT and our members in this struggle.

The RMT will support every group of workers who organise and fight for these aims and we call for joint campaigning and coordinated action to achieve a better deal for workers and a fairer society.

RMT remains available for discussions that will settle this dispute and ensure our transport system can operate without disruption.

UK: RMT officials offer surrender to Tories on eve of national rail strikes, as Corbyn and McDonnell give their blessing
Chris Marsden
15 hours ago

Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) General Secretary Mick Lynch appealed for direct talks with the Conservative government June 15, in a begging letter to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps. Had Shapps accepted, there is no doubt that next week’s planned strikes would have been called off as the RMT negotiated a rotten betrayal...

RMT's statement today reads:

That's classic, brilliant! I can almost hear the Internationale playing in the background!

(Typing must be tricky whilst singing it and raising one hand in a clenched fist!) 

Paul Waugh iNews is reporting that the reasons the negotiations broke down is because the train companies have been instructed by DfT not to properly negotiate. 

https://inews.co.uk/news/train-strike-chaos-continue-ministers-rail-firms-rmt-1693370

In other words this strike is not caused by RMT, but by Grant Shapps. Judging by the rhetoric presumably so that they can blame it on the Labour Party to make it sound like a Corbyn and McDonald still run the party.  They are trying to re-run the battles of the 1960's and 70's.  Obviously coincidental that there are two byelections this week. 

The article is behind a paywall but it's all he said/she said now, hard to know who to believe.

I suspect the chance to have two by-elections in the same week as the strike along with Glastonbury, the Headingley Test match and GCSE & A Level exams to disrupt was too good an opportunity for the RMT to miss and another reason why they chose these dates.

I think the Tories will struggle to pin it on Labour given the Opposition Leadership's at best ambiguous attitude towards the RMT's actions, I am sure they will try but let's face it, Lynch etc and Starmer are hardly fellow travellers, in any sense next week!

It does not matter which week is chosen, there will always be events happening. At the end of June is Wimbledon and Henley for example.

  I notice ASLEF have also voted for Industrial Action, which seems to be
  totally ignored by the media. Which, unlike the RMT, does involve a majority of
  train driver's. So who is going to drive the trains ?

ASLEF, the train drivers’ trade union, today [Thursday] announced strike action over pay:

[/i] Drivers at Greater Anglia will strike between 00:01 and 23:59 Thursday 23 June 2022.

[ii] Drivers at Hull Trains will strike between 00:01 and 23:59 on Sunday 26 June.

[iii] And tram drivers in south London will strike for a fair pay deal from 00:01 on Tuesday 28 June until 23:59 on Wednesday 29 June and from 00:01 on Wednesday 13 July until 23:59 on Thursday 14 July.

Finn Brennan, ASLEF’s organiser on the Underground, said: ‘More than six months after the end of our last pay settlement and with the RPI rate of inflation running at over 11%, there has still been no offer from the company to resolve this dispute. Every day our members are seeing the price of their necessities, from fuel to food go up, while the real value of wages has fallen dramatically. Tram drivers, like other workers in public transport do a difficult and demanding job with round the clock shifts seven days a week. They deserve fair pay and are determined to fight for it.’

He added: ‘ASLEF members on Croydon Tramlink returned an incredible 99.2% Yes vote to strike on a turnout of over 86 %. It is a result that any union would be proud of and demonstrates just how strongly our members feel about managements failure to make an acceptable pay offer. The ball is now in management’s court. They can either make a fair offer or face the prospect of hard hitting and drawn-out strike action. I hope they will choose the sensible option our members are ready and prepared to act if they do not.’

Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF, the train drivers’ union, says that figures published this week by the DfT that reveal that passenger numbers on Britain’s railways are nearly back to normal – back to pre-pandemic levels – underlines why there is no need for rail workers to be asked, effectively, to take a pay cut.

Mick said: ‘The latest Department for Transport statistics show that passenger numbers reached the milestone of 90% of pre-covid levels on Thursday 19 May – and went up to 92% over the next three days. That’s great news – not just for the railways, but for Britain.

‘But this blows the argument that “there is no money” right out of the water. There is, now the railway is returning to normal, because passengers are back and services are packed again.

‘Many of our members have not had a pay rise since 2019. We will fight to maintain the pay, terms & conditions, and the pensions of our members. We are not naïve. The train companies are doing very well out of Britain’s railways – with handsome profits, dividends for shareholders, and big salaries for managers – and we are not going to work longer, for less. We want a pay rise, for train drivers, who kept people and goods moving during the pandemic, in line with the cost of living, so that we are not, in real terms, worse off.’

 
Note to editors:

ASLEF has called ballots for industrial action over pay at Arriva Rail London; Chiltern; Croydon Tramlink; Greater Anglia; Great Western; Hull Trains; LNER; Northern Trains; ScotRail; Southeastern; TransPennine Express; and West Midlands Trains.

We have successfully concluded pay deals with DB Cargo; Eurostar; Freightliner Heavy Haul; Freightliner Intermodal; GB Railfreight; Merseyrail; MTR Elizabeth line; and PRE Metro Operations.

And we also have multi-year deals with other companies, which were previously agreed, already in place.

I think the Tories will struggle to pin it on Labour given the Opposition Leadership's at best ambiguous attitude towards the RMT's actions, I am sure they will try but let's face it, Lynch etc and Starmer are hardly fellow travellers, in any sense next week!

TSSA has served notice to ballot almost five hundred workers at Great Western Railway (GWR) for strike action and action short of strike in a dispute over pay, conditions and job security.

The union is demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for 2022, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living.

Ballots open: 24 June 2022
Ballots close: 12 July 2022
The earliest that industrial action could be taken is 26 July 2022.

These ballot follows hot on the heels of similar announcements in Network Rail, Cross Country, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, and Avanti West Coast, Northern, LNER and C2C in an escalating dispute across the railway.

Rail union TSSA has served notice to ballot over 6,000 staff at Network Rail for strike action and action short of strike in a dispute over pay, conditions and job security.

The ballot comes as part of an escalating dispute with Network Rail and the wider rail industry, which could result in widespread disruption across Britain’s rail network. TSSA’s members work in operational, control, management and safety critical roles on rail services across Britain.

TSSA is demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for 2022, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living. Network Rail staff last had a pay rise between two and three years ago (it varies between grades) and also worked throughout the coronavirus pandemic as key workers.

Members are being asked to cast two votes: one on strike action, another on action short of strike. The timetable for the ballot is:
Ballot opens: 20 June 2022
Ballot closes: 11 July 2022
In the event of a yes vote, strike action could take place as early as 25 July 2022

Interestingly, most TOCS *are* closing down early, to be back in their stabling no later than midnight.

And so the first strike day.  As I write prior to 07:00, nothing running.  Ironically, no reported short term changes on JourneyCheck for once - no cancellations, no short runs, no trains shorter than usual or running without normal toilet or catering facilities.   Simply no trains ...

Guidance on the Management of Door-to-Door Work & Travel Time. These
are set out below:
No-one shall work more than 13 consecutive turns of duty in any 14-day period.
No more than 12 hours to be worked per turn of duty/shift.
A minimum rest period of 12 hours between shifts including any travelling time. This may be reduced to 8 hours at
the weekly shift changeover, in the case of staff working a shift pattern which rotates or alternates on a weekly basis.