Month-long Christmas strike chaos begins today as rail staff announce more walkouts and force millions to work from home
THOUSANDS of Brits have been forced to work from home today as rail workers kicked off a month of crippling industrial action.
A 48 hour strike began early this morning after RMT union members rejected the latest pay offer from employer Network Rail yesterday.
A second two-day walk out will take place on Friday.
And in a major blow to Brits hoping to unite with loved ones for Christmas, industrial action will happen again from 6pm on Christmas Eve until 6am on December 27.
On a turnout of 83 per cent, just 63 per cent of RMT members voted to reject a 9 per cent pay hike over two years.
In contrast, workers represented by Unite agreed to the deal, ending months of negotiations and damaging walk outs that costed businesses millions.
This morning RMT Chief Mick 'the Grinch' Lynch insisted he's not out to ruin Christmas.
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He told Good Morning Britain: "I have no intention of spoiling people's Christmas. The Government is contributing to spoiling of the Christmas because they've brought these strikes on by stopping the companies from making suitable proposals.
"That's the position that we're in and we'll have to keep this dispute going until we get a reasonable settlement and a reasonable set of proposals that our members want to accept."
Transport Secretary Mark Harper hit back, suggesting a higher pay rise would be unfair to the taxpayer.
"There isn't a bottomless pit of money to go into the rail industry," he told Sky News.
"If most people look at the offer that's on the table they'll think it's very fair and reasonable. It's in line with what most people in the private sector are getting."
The minister added that "the tide is turning" against industrial action, with nearly 40 per cent of RMT members deciding Network Rail's offer is acceptable, despite being told by Mr Lynch to reject it in the ballot.
But in a fresh blow to the government two fresh sets of strikes were confirmed just today.
Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association at CrossCountry will strike on Boxing Day and December 27.
And Physiotherapists in England and Wales voted to take industrial action over pay and conditions.
Yesterday ministers held an emergency COBRA meeting ahead of a wave of further strikes planned by nurses, paramedics and Border Force staff at airports.
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After the summit, Cabinet Office boss Oliver Dowden, who is heading up strike contingency plans, pleaded: “My message to them, even now, is please call them off.”
Warning that there were major risks to the public, he added: “The single best thing that can be done to minimise those risks — we can’t eliminate them all together — is for the strikes to be called off and for those unions to once again engage with the employers."
The coordinated walk outs are expected to cause mass disruption, with thousands of NHS operations and appointments cancelled.
The military and civil servants are likely to be brought in to cover Border Force staff, while armed forces will also be deployed to hospital trusts.
Taxis will be block-booked to ferry non-vital patients to hospitals.
With the rail networks in chaos because of the snow, millions will be forced to avoid trains this week.
Meanwhile, hopes are fading that a strike of up to 100,000 nurses this Thursday and the following Tuesday will be averted.
Up to 15,000 operations are expected to be cancelled this week due to the unprecedented demands for a 19 per cent pay rise.
Even Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer branded their ask “unaffordable” yesterday, urging the Royal College of Nurses to be more reasonable.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay met with nursing leaders yesterday after a bitter war of words over industrial action.
Mr Barclay made clear the Government’s position on pay remains unchanged.
It comes as ambulance workers are set to walk out a week tomorrow and the following Wednesday.
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And angry crews could refuse all 999 calls during stoppages, a union boss has warned.
Paramedics, call handlers and support staff across England will strike but ministers and unions said life-or-death calls will still be attended.