Thursday 1 September 2022 11:46 PM Grant Shapps calls for an end to 'synchronised strikes' amid collusion between ... trends now
Grant Shapps today calls for a ban on collusion between union barons after the militant RMT announced fresh strikes to coincide with ones called by Aslef.
The Transport Secretary said that new laws were needed to smash ‘synchronised’ strikes which are ‘clearly the product of collusive action’ by separate unions.
Writing in today’s Daily Mail, he says judges should be dragged in to rule on cases where collusion is suspected.
It comes after the RMT announced yesterday that 40,000 workers for Network Rail and 14 train operators covering most of the country will walk out on September 15 and 17.
The Transport Secretary Grant Shapps (pictured) said that new laws were needed to smash ‘synchronised’ strikes which are ‘clearly the product of collusive action’ by separate unions
Only the day before, train drivers’ union Aslef reported a strike for September 15 across 12 operators. The move is designed to inflict maximum damage, as with both unions striking on that day barely any services will run across most of the country.
Until now, the RMT has refrained from action on the same day as other unions and the industry has managed to keep around one in five trains running on strike days.
Rail travellers face four consecutive days of chaos as services on September 16 and 18 will also be affected by the knock-on impact.
Mr Shapps has already unveiled a 16-point plan including fresh laws to smash the rail unions’ ability to hold the country to ransom.
One of them is lifting the ban on ministers using emergency powers to block strikes that pose a ‘national emergency’.
But he says another is now needed, writing: ‘We need a 17th rule, one banning synchronised strike action that is clearly the product of collusive action by different unions. It would be for a court to decide if proposed industrial action meets this test.’
He added: ‘The 16 measures on curbing unjustified industrial action have been supported by both candidates in the Conservative leadership contest.
‘The right to strike is a fundamental ingredient of our liberty. But it is there as a last resort in cases of genuine grievance.
‘We cannot allow [RMT boss] Mick Lynch and his allies to once again subvert this precious freedom for political ends.’ A small fraction of services will run on September 15. It is expected to be the biggest shutdown of the railways since the early 1980s due to both Aslef and RMT striking.
Due to the shift patterns of critical workers such as signallers, services the following morning will also be hit and could drop to 70 per cent overall on September 16.
Around one in five trains will run on September 17, with services dropping to as much as 85 per cent the day after.
A third rail union, the TSSA, has called strikes on September 26. It will hit delegates trying to reach the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool that week. However, TSSA staff are less critical to the running of the railways and disruption will be less severe.
All three unions are in bitter disputes with the industry over pay and job security. They are demanding inflation-linked pay rises.
The RMT has already snubbed a pay rise offer of 8 per cent over this year and next from Network Rail.
The deal involves some modernisation of working practices, which the union is resisting.
Collusion’s become a weapon to ensure maximum damage, writes Transport Secretary Grant ShappsMany of us are too young to remember the era of beer and sandwiches at No10 –that period in the 1970s when the union barons bestrode the national stage and were regular
