Govt has just 48 hours to stop train strikes wrecking Christmas amid plans to rip up tax breaks for unions
JUST 48 hours are left to avoid Christmas-wrecking train strikes — as ministers draw up plans to rip up tax breaks for unions.
RMT chief Mick “the Grinch” Lynch aims to lead more than 40,000 workers in mass walkouts — both before and after Christmas.
The TSSA train union is also staging walkouts in crippling, coordinated action.
One person involved in the talks said: “We are approaching D-Day”.
Another said: “It is the last chance to call off the strikes and save Christmas.”
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Talks are going down to the wire as it was revealed:
- PUB and restaurant bookings are down 25 per cent over strike days;
- SOME fully-staffed ticket offices sell fewer than 100 tickets every three months;
- GOLD-plated employment perks mean RMT staff can earn more than £2,000 in five days over Christmas;
- RMT staff who can’t work on tracks due to health reasons can sit at home on full pay for two years;
- ROYAL Mail will take most of its Christmas letters and toy deliveries by road rather than trains to ensure gifts arrive on time.
Railway unions are locked in a row with bosses and ministers over pay and plans to rip up their antiquated gold-plated perks.
They have announced walkouts on December 13, 14, 16 and 17.
Industry insiders are desperate for ministers to get a deal over the line.
One said: “Things are going to be screwed if we don’t get things sorted by Tuesday.”
Any agreement after Tuesday is thought to be too late to avoid service disruption.
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The strikes are the beginning of a winter of discontent as nurses, ambulance staff, posties, airport and border staff all plan walkouts.
School teachers are also balloting for action.
As Britain faces the biggest wave of industrial unrest in a generation, Rishi Sunak is drawing up emergency plans to clip the wings of militant union bosses.
He is considering axing rules which mean strike pay — money unions give workers to cover lost wages while on the picket line — cannot be taxed.
The PM is also considering a law change to curb the power of unions to call rolling strikes over six months with one ballot.
Generous bank holiday pay over Christmas and New Year means that over five days an RMT train worker earning £44,000 a year can pocket £2,284 before tax.
Tory MP Jonathan Gullis said: “The reality is we just don’t have the cash to pay for these perks any more.”
The RMT say soaring inflation means members desperately need a pay rise and warn of ticket office closures.
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Treasury sources said it would cost every household £993 to foot the bill for all the pay demands being made by unions this winter.
It has emerged that members of the Armed Forces will be called in to help man ports and could be deployed to drive ambulances during the strikes.