Rail travellers face another festive season of disarray after the RMT voted for a further six-month strike mandate.
It paves the way for the union’s boss Mick Lynch to target a second Christmas and New Year with strikes.
The RMT sparked outrage last year by ordering several walkouts in December and January in a bid to hit those travelling to be with loved ones over the festive period.
This led to its boss being nicknamed ‘Mick Grinch’.
The union has called 25 national strikes since last June in a long-running row over pay and conditions. It’s also threatening to call more walkouts over plans by ministers to close most remaining ticket offices in England.
Some analyses estimate that rail walkouts have cost the economy more than £5 billion since last summer.
The new mandate will mean that walkouts could continue virtually until early summer next year.
It permits the RMT to order unlimited strikes during the period, but they must give two weeks of notice.
Overall, 89.9 per cent of members voted in favour of more strike action, with a 63.6 per cent turnout.
The ballot included 20,000 guards, catering staff and ticket sellers for 14 train companies covering most of England. Mr Lynch said that he congratulated their members for delivering a decisive mandate for future industrial action as they pursue a negotiated settlement of jobs, pay and conditions.
The RMT has been offered a 9 per cent pay rise over two years but has declined to put it to members in a vote.
Aslef, which represents train drivers, has snubbed an 8 per cent pay hike over two years which would take the driver’s average salary to £65,000.
Sadly, I think that public opinion is against them, and perhaps it’s time to prohibit strikes on railways.
Unfortunately, it’s just life now and people are used to working around these walkouts.
Honestly, how much does this joker get paid to lead the sheep into another walkout?
Does he not realise that people are so used to these walkouts now that they don’t actually have any impact anymore because RMT has lost all support and respect, not that it ever had much in the first place?
Whilst I don’t agree with losing ticket offices and a human face. I believe that Mick Lynch is creating a situation where he and his employees will be considered obsolete. As it stands, most people are finding alternative forms of travel, and I’m sure it wouldn’t take much for them to make that switch permanent.
Eventually, working from home will be mandatory for those who can. It appeared to work well during COVID-19, and most meetings are now being held by Zoom. Perhaps it’s time to break up these unions who have held far too much power for far too long.
It’s the same with supermarkets now with all these self-checkouts. I can’t stand the things myself – I like to see a human being when going through the checkout, but I suppose as long as there are people there to assist and the machine accepts cash, which most don’t now, what could possibly go wrong?
Mick Lynch and his entourage are wasting their time. They will never get the deal that they want and people might be sick of it, but they’re getting used to it.
This is primarily economic sabotage and these people should not be allowed to get away with these strikes. Enough is enough and these damn unions should go.
You would think that by now Mick Lynch would realise that he’s not going to win and should really be considering his position.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 