Rail services are being severely disrupted this week as some 40,000 members of the network, who work for Network Rail and 13 train operators, voted for successive departures due to jobs, pay and conditions. Talks were held Wednesday between union and industry bosses in a bid to break the deadlock, but ended without an agreement. Mick Lynch, RMT’s secretary general, said: “Grant Shapps has disrupted these negotiations by preventing Network Rail from withdrawing its letter threatening the dismissal of 2,900 of our members. “Until the government releases Network Rail and the train companies, it will not be possible to reach an agreement through negotiations.” He added: “We will continue our industrial campaign until we reach a negotiated settlement that will provide job security and wage increases for our members facing the escalating cost of living crisis.” Only 60 percent of trains run on Wednesday, and some operators will stop earlier than normal before the next round of action. The third and final strike of the week is scheduled for Saturday. However, in a major breakthrough, members of the Merseyrail Employees’ Private Transportation Association accepted a pay offer that union leaders say is worth 7.1 percent. Secretary-General Manuel Cortes described it as “a reasonable result for a reasonable offer”. A survey of more than 2,300 people by Savanta ComRes found that more than half (58 percent) considered labor action to be justified. Passengers at Euston Station in London (PA) A spokesman for the Ministry of Transport said the railway reform was “desperately necessary”. The spokesman said: “Unions have closed large sections of the railway network, hitting local businesses and unfairly cutting people off from hospitals, schools and work. “However, early data show that, unlike in the past, many people now have the opportunity to work from home, so we have not seen haste on the streets, as traffic has become online, which means that unions are not having the overall impact they might have hoped for. “
