National rail strike: Misery could SPREAD to other sectors, union boss warns as he demands 7% pay hike

A UNION boss behind next week's rail and tube strikes has demanded a seven per-cent pay rise for staff and warned walkouts could spill into other sectors in the UK.

Mick Lynch, General Secretary of The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), says pay must be hiked to reflect the cost of living crisis.

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The strikes - which will start on June 21 and also take place on the 23rd and 25th - have been branded the biggest in modern history.

It will see a whopping 40,000 union members hanging up their uniforms following a dispute over pay.

It comes as last ditch talks with union leaders over pay derailed on Saturday - giving the green light for the strikes to go ahead.

But speaking to Sky News' Sophy Ridge, the union boss claimed the RMT were being "robbed of wages" and Network Rail - who pay rail staff - are offering "nowhere near" the pay they want.

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He whinged: "At the time of the Network Rail pay deal, which should have been done in December, it was 7.1 per cent, the Retail Price Index.

"That's what the cost of living would have been at the time these deals should have been struck, so we're going to negotiate to see if we can get a deal that reflects that cost of living.

"There a number of ways in which you can put value into a package, it's not all about straightforward pay.

"So we'll talk to them constructively, but they're making offers that are nowhere near that.

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"And for half the people in this dispute, there's no offer at all and for many of them it's the third year where there's no offer and no proposal."

The average salary of a train driver is £54,000 per year - a seven per cent rise on that would see them raking in £57,780.

The union boss also said there has been fury among workers after being told the working week could rise from "35 hours to 40, or possibly 44".

The Department for Transport later told The Sun Mr Lynch's claims regarding increased working hours was "wrong".

He added: "And for new entrants that will mean lower wages. So they're actually proposing pay cuts, not a pay rise, and an increase in working time on the railway."

On Sunday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the strike was "disastrous" for passengers and that would "inconvenience millions of British workers".

He fumed: "It is going to inconvenience millions of people – students doing their GCSEs and A-levels, people trying to get to hospitals to try get operations that have been postponed, perhaps, during coronavirus.

"It is disastrous. It is no way to behave on the railway. There is no advantage to this."

Mr Lynch - who The Sun can reveal longs to be a modern-day Arthur Scargill — and drag Britain back to the industrial strife of the 1970s - also warned of walkouts across British industries.

He said: "I think there are going to be many unions balloting across the country, because people can't take it anymore.

It is disastrous. It is no way to behave on the railway. There is no advantage to this

Grant Shapps, Transport Secretary

"We have got people who doing full time jobs who are having to take state benefits and use food banks. That is a national disgrace."

Shapps slapped down Lynch's longing for the old days of union hell, slamming: "I know Mick Lynch says he is 'nostalgic for union power' but this is no way to behave."

Members of RMT at Network Rail and 13 train operators will go on strike - bringing the country to a standstill.

The strikes will cost the economy billions - with the hospitality industry alone taking a mammoth half a billion pound hit with spending set to fall 20 per cent,  reported.

But Mr Lynch - who took home an eye watering £118,450 in pay and perks in 2020 - insisted that they "don't want to cause misery".

Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said the strikes have been timed to cause "maximum disruption".

MAP OF MISERY

It comes as rail bosses also unveiled a new map of misery showing how only half of Britain's rail and tube network will be rolling next week.

Services across the nation will be hammered by the strikes - sparking misery for millions of Brits.

Network Rail said that no passenger services will serve locations such as Penzance in Cornwall, Bournemouth in Dorset, Swansea in South Wales, Holyhead in North Wales, Chester in Cheshire and Blackpool, Lancashire.

There will also be no passenger trains running north from Glasgow or Edinburgh.

And incredibly, the last train from Edinburgh to London on the East Coast Main Line will stop running at lunchtime at 1.30pm.

The last trains to leave major cities from London on the three strike days will be at 2pm to Edinburgh, 2.56pm to Manchester, 3.05pm to Leeds, 3.31pm to Liverpool or Sheffield, 3.40pm to Birmingham.

There is also the 3.43pm to Newcastle, 4.09pm to Nottingham, 4.30pm to Norwich, 4.33pm to Bristol, 5pm to Southampton and 5.50pm to Brighton. 

Those travelling to London airports at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton or Southend will see some services, but only during the limited hours

While Heathrow trains could be axed next Tuesday due to the separate Tube strike. 

Lines will only be open between 7.30am and 6.30pm, meaning services will start later and finish earlier than usual.

And the number of passenger services on those days is expected to be limited to around 4,500 compared with 20,000 normally.

'HUGELY DISAPPOINTING'

A Department for Transport spokesperson told The Sun yesterday the strikes are "hugely disappointing" and called for calm from the RMT.

They slammed: “Strikes should always be the last resort, not the first, so it is hugely disappointing and premature that the RMT is going ahead with industrial action.

“The Government committed £16 billion – or £600 per household – to keep our railways running throughout the pandemic while ensuring not a single worker lost their job.

"The railway is still on life support, with passenger numbers 25 per cent down and anything that drives away even more of them risks killing services and jobs.

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

“We urge the RMT to reconsider so we can find a solution that delivers for workers, passengers and taxpayers alike.”

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