Brits to be hit by strike chaos as rail workers set to stage mass walk out during summer holidays

BRITS are set to be hit by summer holiday strike chaos with rail workers walking out again next month.

Some 20,000 railway workers will strike on July 20, 22 and 29 as part of the ongoing national rail dispute, the RMT union announced.

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Since 21 June 2022, members of the RMT union have walked out on 28 occasions.

Rail, Maritime and Transport union members have been striking in their thousands over job losses, pay and conditions.

The union claims Network Rail and the train operating companies have hit their staff with multiyear pay freezes.

They further claim that they also plan to cut thousands of jobs and that these cuts will make the railways unsafe.

At the beginning of 2023, Mick Lynch, general secretary of the RMT claimed that the government had blocked a deal to end the dispute.

He said that he is willing to negotiate but requires an offer on pay, jobs and conditions that their members can vote on.

Spesaking to The Independent Mr Lynch said: “We’re available all of the time to talk about a settlement and negotiate a deal, but there isn’t one available.

“The government have locked the dispute down, and have gone to radio silence, I’m afraid.

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“We’re not giving up. We’ve had a mass meeting of our reps last week and the message was very firm: that they wanted to continue.

“I don’t know what that [industrial action] will be at this stage, but it will be another campaign of action to try and keep the dispute alive so that we can get a settlement for our people.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “It is completely false to say the government is blocking a deal.

“The Transport Secretary [Mark Harper] and Rail Minister [Huw Merriman] have regularly met union leaders and facilitated a fair and reasonable offer, which includes a generous pay rise and no compulsory redundancies.

“The government wants to see an end to this dispute, but that requires union leaders to put offers to a vote of their members.”