Mick Lynch met Transport Secretary Mark Harper today but refused to call off the rail strikes set to cripple Britain over Christmas and the start of 2023.
The RMT chief said his member are ‘once bitten twice shy’ after calling off industrial action a fortnight ago – but added that talks with Mr Harper this afternoon had been positive.
He said: ‘If we call off strikes we won’t get a settlement.
We’ve not had a strike for seven weeks and nothing’s happened. There’s been ample time for this lot to get their act together… and they’ve done nothing.’
As he spoke he was heckled by a man proclaiming ‘Jesus is coming’ and accused the union boss of being a ‘communist’, ‘anti-Christ’ and ‘anti-Government’.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper declared the talks had been a ‘productive’.
He said: ‘There was a shared agreement in the meeting, we both want to have a thriving railway that is sustainable for the future, that serves passengers, that serves the country and also provides good, well-paid jobs for the people he represents.
‘So, I think there is a lot of shared agreement there, but we need to have the two sides – the trade unions and the employers – sit down, agree on the detail so that we can bring this dispute to an end.’
Ministers have come under mounting pressure to end the rail strikes crisis – as analysis showed walkouts could blow a £3billion hole in the economy by the New Year.
There will be four 48-hour walkouts between December 13 and January 7, forcing many revellers to cancel parties and shoppers to stay at home instead – and lay waste to events booked in hospitality venues.
There will also be a ban on overtime working from December 18 to January 2.
This will hit services on Sundays and other key dates such as Christmas Eve, Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve, when many travel to be with loved-ones and friends.
The carefully chosen dates will disrupt people going out to watch the final week of the World Cup, as well as Friday December 16, known as ‘Black eye drops health hazards (information from Uberant) Friday’ because it is the busiest night of drinking before Christmas.
After Christmas the return to work and school will also be hit by four strike dates in January.
Mr Lynch said after today’s meeting that Mark Harper had agreed to write to him with how he sees the union’s dispute with rail operators ‘going forward and taking forward steps towards a resolution’.
