RMT members are set to strike again on June 2 in a long-running dispute over wages, jobs and working conditions.
The strike will see 20,000 train managers, caterers and station staff all out of their jobs.
There would be three rail strikes in the space of four days with the Aslife train drivers out on 31 May and 3 June, the day of the FA Cup Final.
The government said the RMT had “went out of its way” to make life difficult for thousands.
The downtime is also likely to cause disruption for many during the half term school holiday period.
The RMT said no new proposals had been submitted by the train companies since the union’s last strike on May 13.
General Secretary Mick Lynch said the government was not allowing the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) to make an improved bid in the national dispute.
Industry negotiators were “shocked” when RMT rejected their latest offer in April. There was a war of words over whether the RDG had backed away from its proposals – something it vehemently denied.
On Thursday, the group of rail companies said it continued to stand by its “fair” proposal, and said RMT leadership had chosen to “prolong this dispute without giving its members a chance to have a say in their proposal”.
The Aslef strikes are now more of a nuisance than the RMT’s, because the settlement of a separate Network Rail dispute in March meant staff signaling was no longer involved.
However, RMT members supported a potential strike in the fall.
Government and industry argue that railways are not financially sustainable, and labor practices need to change to enable higher wages.
Unions argue that jobs and conditions are under attack and that wage increases on the table are far less than inflation.
“Ministers can’t just wish this row could be resolved,” said Mick Lynch of the RMT.
The government again called on the federation on Thursday to allow its members to vote on what it called the “fair and reasonable offer” made by the Democratic Governance Group.
A Department for Transport spokesperson also said: “It is extremely disappointing that for the second time in a month the RMT have decided to call strikes the same weekend as the Aslef, on their way to travel by train to the FA Cup Final, Epsom Derby and a number of more challenging concerts.” to thousands of people.”
The 14 train companies affected by the RMT’s ongoing strike are: Chiltern Railways, Cross Country Trains, Greater Anglia, LNER, East Midlands Railway, c2c, Great Western Railway, Northern Trains, South Eastern, South Western Railway, Transpennine Express, Avanti West Coast and West Midlands Trains and GTR (including the Gatwick Express)
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The new RMT exit meant three new train strikes in four days
