New Transport Secretary ‘very happy’ to meet trade unions over rail strikes

The new Transport Secretary has said that he would be “very happy” to meet trade union leaders amid ongoing rail strikes.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) general secretary Mick Lynch, along with other union leaders, had met Anne-Marie Trevelyan during her brief tenure in the role.

However, her predecessor, Grant Shapps, sparked increasing union anger earlier in the year when he refused to get involved in negotiations.

A fresh wave of rail strikes are scheduled for the coming days and Mark Harper, the latest Secretary of State, said it was “helpful” for ministers to meet with trade union leaders.

He told LBC: “I’m very happy to meet the trade unions.

“The negotiations are obviously going to take place between the unions and the employers: Network Rail and the train operating companies.

“But I think it’s helpful for ministers to meet trade union leaders and to listen to their concerns.

“I’m very happy to do that and my department will be reaching out to those trade union leaders in due course.”

Mr Harper, appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme, was pressed on his own role in finding a resolution.

“What we’ve done is we’ve set out a funding envelope for the companies. But we’ve been clear that in order to deliver a better pay rise for the workers in the rail sector, we need to deliver reform in the way that the train operating companies and Network Rail can work so that we can deliver savings for the taxpayer.

“And then there’s more money on the table for employees and that’s why these talks are under way. It’s why they’re complicated.”

Members of the RMT, Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and Unite unions are taking industrial action from Saturday in the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Strikes will be held on November 5, 7 and 9, crippling services on those days and causing knock-on delays in between the walkouts.

Network Rail urged passengers to only travel if absolutely necessary, warning that on strike days only one in five trains will run, and only between 7.30am and 6.30pm.