London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Train strikes: Rail workers to stage two days of fresh walkouts, RMT union says

Train strikes: Rail workers to stage two days of fresh walkouts, RMT union says

Rail workers will hold fresh strikes in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, the RMT union has said.

It said 40,000 of its members who work at Network Rail and 14 train companies will walk out on 15 and 17 September.

The first day of these strikes coincides with a walkout by train drivers at 12 rail companies.

The Aslef union said the action by 9,000 of its members will be the biggest strike drivers have taken part in so far.

The RMT walkout follows six previous days of strike action by its members across June, July and August.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said union members had "no choice" but to continue striking.

"[The track operator] Network Rail and the train operating companies have shown little interest this past few weeks in offering our members anything new in order for us to be able to come to a negotiated settlement," he said.

"We will continue to negotiate in good faith, but the employers and government need to understand our industrial campaign will continue for as long as it takes."


'Self-defeating'


A Department for Transport spokesperson said: "Yet again, union leaders are choosing self-defeating, co-ordinated strike action over constructive talks, not only disrupting the lives of millions who rely on these services but jeopardising the future of the railways and their own members' livelihoods."

The spokesperson said reforms proposed by the rail operators were essential to modernise the service and the strikes "will not change this".

Andrew Haines, chief executive of Network Rail, said it wanted to give staff a decent pay rise and was doing everything it could to find a breakthrough in talks.

He said: "Our latest offer of a two-year 8% pay rise, with heavily discounted travel and a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, is affordable from within our own budgets, but the RMT remains unwilling to give its members the chance to vote on it despite knowing that members at another union overwhelmingly accepted a similar deal."

Steve Montgomery, chairman of the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train companies, urged the RMT to call off the strikes.

He said the walk outs were "cynically timed to cause maximum disruption to the very passengers the industry depends on for its recovery".

He added: "We absolutely want to give our people a pay rise and we know they are facing a squeeze - but the RMT must recognise that with revenue consistently at 20% below pre-Covid levels, the only solution lies in long-overdue reforms that will put the industry on a sustainable footing and improve services for passengers."


If these latest train strikes go ahead, RMT members will have taken part in eight days of national-scale strike action within three months.

Thursday 15 September will be the first to coincide with a strike by train drivers in another union, Aslef.

That could mean more extensive disruption than earlier national strikes, but it's too early to say for sure. Judging by previous occasions, timetables won't be available until much nearer the time.

Negotiations between the RMT and the rail industry have continued, and more are expected. But it's obvious not enough progress has yet been made to prevent more industrial action.

At the moment, it's not clear how the deadlock will be broken.

Walkouts on 15 September will disrupt travel to the women's international T20 cricket match between England and India at the Seat Unique Stadium in Bristol.

Meanwhile, strike action on 17 September will hit music fans travelling to see Gary Barlow perform in London and George Ezra in Manchester.

There are also Premier League football matches between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester City, Brighton and Hove Albion and Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Bournemouth, and Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City.

And cricket team Kent Spitfires will take on Lancashire Lightning in the final of the Royal London Cup in Nottingham.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
×