Train commuters face further disruption this summer after RMT rail union members voted overwhelmingly for further strike action.
The union said Thursday that the ballot of working members of 14 train operating companies had “significantly reaffirmed a mandate for more strike action”, with 90% of the vote cast in favor of more strikes over the next six months.
Union leader Mick Lynch called the result a “de facto referendum” on the dispute with an average turnout of nearly 70% at each firm.
“It is clear from these results that members are not willing to accept a salary offer based on deep job cuts and significant attacks on their terms and conditions,” Lynch said.
This sends a clear message to employers that the massive anger among rail workers is very real and they need to recognize this fact, face reality and make improved proposals. They need to get around the table with RMT and negotiate in good faith for a better deal for the railroad workers.”
Unions involved in disputes are required to redistribute their members every six months to legally continue industrial work.
The next 24-hour strike is scheduled for Saturday 13 May, the day of the Eurovision Song Contest final.
It comes after talks broke down last month. At the time, Lynch said the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) had been “pressured” by the government to back out of a 9% offer the union had been considering for several weeks, by making the first-year wage deal conditional on it withdrawing its mandate to strike.
“The RDG is now saying they will only apply the first year payment of 5% if the union terminates its industrial mandate – which means there can be no more strike action,” Lynch said.
Earlier this week, Transport Secretary Mark Harper criticized rail unions over the May 13 strike.
Harper said rail workers should act “in solidarity” with Ukrainian railway employees who have been killed, rather than “ridiculously targeting” Eurovision, which Ukraine won last year.
The train drivers’ union Aslef is also planning a strike on May 12. It recently rejected an offer of wages at 4% per annum for two years, describing the offer as potentially high given inflation at 10%.
More drivers’ strikes will take place on May 31 and June 3, the day of the FA Cup Final, as many fans from the North West of England travel to London to watch two Manchester clubs play at Wembley.