Train
services
will
be
badly
disrupted
tomorrow

in
England
as
RMT
members
at
most
train
operators
stage
another
24-hour
strike
in
the
continuing
dispute
over
pay
and
conditions,
which
began
in
the
spring
of
last
year.

Where
trains
are
running,
frequencies
will
be
reduced
and
last
trains
will
be
much
earlier
than
usual,
but
there
will
be
no
service
from
many
stations
in
England.

RMT
general
secretary
Mick
Lynch
said:
‘Our
national
dispute
is
about
pay
job
security
and
working
conditions.
The
recent
attack
on
ticket
offices
and
the
threat
to
destaff
our
railways,
has
galvanised
a
huge
groundswell
of
public
support
which
we
are
grateful
for.

‘Our
members
and
our
union
will
not
be
cowed
by
rail
bosses
or
government
ministers
and
our
dispute
will
continue
until
we
can
reach
a
negotiated
settlement.

‘We
remain
steadfast
in
our
industrial
programme
and
are
available
for
talks
24/7
with
train
operating
companies.’

The
Rail
Delivery
Group
maintains
that
further
strikes
are
‘unnecessary’,
and
has
urged
the
RMT
to
ballot
its
members
on
the
latest
offer.
It
added:
‘We
have
now
made
three
offers
that
the
RMT
executive
have
blocked
without
a
convincing
explanation.
We
remain
open
to
talks
and
we
have
said
repeatedly
that
we
want
to
give
our
people
a
pay
rise,
but
until
the
union
leadership
and
executive
is
united
in
what
it
wants
and
engages
in
good
faith
with
the
30
per
cent
shortfall
in
revenue
the
industry
is
continuing
to
grapple
with
post-Covid,
it
is
difficult
to
move
forward.’

There
may
also
be
some
disruption
during
the
first
two
weeks
of
August,
because
the
drivers’
union
ASLEF
has
called
for
an
overtime
ban
from
31
July
to
5
August
and
again
from
7
to
12
August.
Operators
have
warned
that
some
trains
may
be
cancelled
as
a
result.

Detailed
information
about
the
effects
of
industrial
action
is
available
on
the
websites
of
individual
operators.