The government has been accused of “blocking” a deal to end the Christmas rail strikes and Rail union leaders have warned that this will create chaos for thousands over the festive period.
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) claim that the government are preventing rail chiefs from improving offers for rail workers.
The TSSA said that the Christmas strikes come gift wrapped from Rishi Sunak” and the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) warned on Wednesday that a resolution to ending the strikes is now much further away.
TSSA interim general secretary, Frank Ward said, “This is devastating news for rail workers, passengers and the wider economy as it exposes the damage the Government is willing to do to working people.
“Rail workers and the industry have been put in an impossible position by the Tory government.
“Christmas chaos and disruption across our railways are now unfortunately guaranteed, and come gift wrapped from Rishi Sunak and his anti-worker Conservative government’s agenda.
“We are truly sorry for the disruption that this action will cause to passengers and businesses. We have tried everything to achieve a resolution, but we will not sell our members’ jobs for a cheap deal that slashes their pay and fails to provide the job security being given to colleagues in the rail industry.”
