Trade union leaders have insisted that they are not running out of money and can sustain strikes for months as the country enters another week of disruption on the rail network.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union will stage two 48-hour walkouts tomorrow and Friday, while drivers from the Aslef union will strike on Thursday. It will effectively delay the return to offices for millions of people after the festive period.
• Strikes latest: Transport secretary tells RMT to ‘get off the picket line’
Ministers believe that unions will ultimately have to back down as they cannot afford to keep supporting their members, who are losing out on significant income during the industrial action.
However Mick Lynch, the general secretary of the RMT, said it was “wrong” to think that they would run out of money.
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He told Today on BBC Radio 4: “They are wrong. This isn’t just pay, it’s about conditions. It’s about the way our members are deployed. Our members are fully committed to defending their positions.”
He accused ministers of “sitting on their hands”. Passengers have been advised to only travel if absolutely necessary and to allow extra time and check when first and last trains will depart.
On RMT strike days, about half of the network will shut down and only about 20 per cent of normal services will run.
Lynch said there had been “radio silence” from ministers since mid-December. “They keep saying that they're facilitating a deal,” he said. “And I think it’s absolutely the opposite to that.”
Mick Whelan, the general secretary of Aslef, said that his union was “in it for the long haul”. ”We don't want to go on strike but the companies have pushed us into this place,” he added.
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He said: “The train companies say their hands have been tied by the government, while the government, which does not employ us, says it’s up to the companies to negotiate with us.
“We are always happy to negotiate — we never refuse to sit down at the table and talk — but these companies have offered us nothing, and that is unacceptable.”
Mark Serwotka, the head of the PCS union which represents border officials, civil servants and driving test examiners, said that his members could sustain strike action “well into the summer”.
He told Times Radio: “We’re not running out of money. Our strike fund is the biggest it has been for eight years, and we have taken steps to raise millions of more pounds and we can sustain our strike action well into the summer.
“And so instead of the government whistling to keep their spirits up, they should do what they’re elected to do, which is to properly try to resolve these problems. That means talking, not hiding. And if the government's not prepared to do the right thing, frankly, it should step aside.”
