London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Rail strikes cynically targeting Eurovision, transport minister says

Rail strikes cynically targeting Eurovision, transport minister says

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has accused the RMT transport union of "cynically targeting the Eurovision song contest" by calling strikes on the day of the final.
RMT members are due to strike on 13 May after the union rejected the latest pay deal from train operators.

The RMT said the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the train operators, had "torpedoed" pay talks.

But Mr Harper said a "fair and reasonable pay offer" had been made.

In an interview on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Harper urged the RMT - the UK's largest specialist transport union - to put the pay offer to its members and let them decide.

Mr Harper said, rather than doing this, the RMT had "called strikes which are cynically targeting the Eurovision song contest".

"The reason that's so appalling is because that's not our song contest," Mr Harper said. "We're hosting it for Ukraine."

Mr Harper said the RMT should be standing "in solidarity" with Ukrainian rail workers targeted by Russian President Vladimir Putin in war-torn Ukraine.

The BBC asked the RMT if it wished to comment but the union said it had nothing to add beyond its previous statements.

The RMT union said it would launch action across 14 train operators for 24 hours on Saturday 13 May - the day Liverpool hosts the Eurovision final on behalf of Ukraine.

Members will be walking out from 00:01 to 23:59 BST on 13 May.

The union's executive and the train operators had been discussing a new pay offer aimed at ending a long-running dispute.

The RDG's proposals involved one year's pay rise of 5% that was dependent on the union agreeing to go into a "dispute resolution process" and accepting the general principle of changes to working practices.

Earlier this week, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the RDG had "reneged on their original proposals and torpedoed these negotiations".

Train operators said they had been "blindsided" by the strike, and denied union claims they had changed their offer.

Steve Montgomery, chair of the RDG Group, said the union was "negotiating in bad faith, again denying their members a say on a fair pay deal, needlessly disrupting the lives of millions of our passengers, and undermining the viability of an industry critical to Britain's economy".

The RMT's decision to take industrial action followed the announcement of strikes by Aslef, a union that represents train drivers.

Aslef has strikes on 12 and 31 May, and on 3 June, the day of the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium in London. The strikes will run from 00:01 to 23:59 each day.

The union rejected a fresh offer from 16 train firms, including a 4% pay rise for two years in a row and changes to conditions.

Mick Whelan, Aslef's general secretary, said the offer was "risible" and "clearly not designed to be accepted as inflation is still running north of 10%".

The only people responsible for the ongoing strikes in this country "are the government and the employers", he told the BBC.

On the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Harper was asked whether the government was prepared to let rail strikes disrupt the industry until Christmas.

He did not answer the question directly, but said: "In the end, the people who work in those industries have got to make a judgement about whether they accept the pay offer."

"All that the rail unions are going to do is drive people away from it," he said. "Take the two biggest events they're trying to disrupt, Eurovision and the FA Cup Final."

Mr Harper predicted the bus and coach sector would "step up" on the days of planned rail strikes in May and June.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
×