London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Shapps demands union put pay offer to a vote as latest walkout cripples UK

Shapps demands union put pay offer to a vote as latest walkout cripples UK

Despite the pay offer, the RMT’s Mick Lynch has claimed more strikes later this year are ‘very likely’

Grant Shapps has urged the head of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union to put Network Rail’s pay offer to workers for a vote after Saturday’s strikes caused chaos across the country.

In a letter to RMT general secretary Mick Lynch on Saturday afternoon, the Transport Secretary said the railway operator’s proposal of an 8 per cent pay rise over two years is “fair” and members should have the opportunity to resolve the dispute.

He also called on the union to accept proposed reforms to modernise the railway sector after Saturday’s walkouts left just 20 per cent of the rail network running.


The action is the latest in a series of walkouts over the last few months amid a stalemate between unions and train operators, which has caused travel chaos across the UK.

Mr Lynch has rejected suggestions that rail workers would agree to the offer on the table if the union put it to a vote.

But Mr Shapps made a fresh appeal on Saturday before criticising the union for how the industrial action is affecting the public.

In his letter shared on Twitter, the Transport Secretary wrote: “Network Rail has tabled a fair, legitimate pay offer (8% over two years).

“It is only right that you now put that offer to your members and call off the strikes whilst you do so.”

Mr Shapps cited some TSSA members recently voting in favour of the deal before accusing other unions of pressurising other TSSA members into cancelling another vote.

“It is in no one’s interest to take away members’ opportunity to resolve disputes,” he said.

Mr Shapps described the union action as a “kick in the teeth” to workers who cannot travel to their own jobs.

He wrote: “Whilst the rise of home working has limited your ability to bring the country to a standstill, your action is disproportionately impacting those who have no option but to travel to work.

“Consider the hospital porter, cleaner and everyone else who needs to physically be at their place of work. Your action is often harming the least well paid the most.”

The Transport Secretary said employers have a pay rise on the table for RMT members but it will not be put forward until the union agrees to reforms that “will bring the railways off taxpayer-funded life support”.

He said: “The longer the RMT continue to call further strikes whilst refusing to agree to these reforms and refusing to even put offers to its members, the more long-lasting damage is being done to the very sector from which your members draw their livelihoods, and on which key workers rely.”

The two sides are as far apart as ever in resolving the row despite months of talks.

Mr Lynch rejected Mr Shapps’ suggestion that RMT members would agree to the current offer if it was put to a vote, as he spoke to broadcasters on Saturday morning.

Asked on BBC Breakfast whether he had evidence of this, Mr Lynch said: “Absolutely, I did a meeting on Wednesday evening, the night before the strike of 14,000 RMT members, in an online rally and our members are out today demonstrating.

“I speak to thousands of our members every week, we consult at least 600 Network Rail reps on a weekly basis and we know exactly what the mood of our members is.”

Mr Lynch also claimed that members of the smaller TSSA union, who voted to accept a pay deal, “have been bribed to break this strike”.

He said: “Our members are not going to be bribed, the offer is puny and they’re not ready to accept it.”

Mr Lynch claimed public support for the dispute is “entrenching”.

“There are campaigns and rallies being launched right across the country in support of these type of activities,” he said.

“I think the British public are fed up of being ripped off by this Government and by corporate Britain, which have seen companies like BP and British Gas making massive profits while people are struggling to make a living.

“The companies are being supported in this by the Government and we’re determined to get a square deal for our people and that’s exactly what we’ll achieve and the public seems to be right behind us in that campaign.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
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
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×