RMT’s Mick Lynch insists rail strikes ‘have been a success’ despite lack of pay deal after almost a year
The boss of Britain’s biggest rail workers union has insisted strikes have been a “success” – despite no pay deal being agreed yet after almost a year of industrial action.
Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, said the rail strikes – which began in June 2022 – had managed to prevent bosses from pushing through redundancies and controversial reforms such as mass ticket office closures.
He also claimed a further success was the inspiration his union had provided to workers in other sectors.
Mr Lynch was speaking amid widespread disruption on Friday after around 20,000 workers, including guards and rail managers at 14 firms, walked out once again over pay and conditions.
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A walkout by train drivers’ union ASLEF was also held on Wednesday, with more action planned this weekend, as part of the ongoing rows between the government and the unions.
Saturday’s walkout by ASLEF members will affect people travelling to the FA Cup final at Wembley, the Epsom Derby in Surrey, the England v Ireland test match at Lord’s, and Beyonce’s Renaissance tour date at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
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Rail union boss ‘not at fault’ for strike disruption
Mr Lynch, speaking from a picket line at London’s Euston station, said train companies were to blame for the disruption and added strikes would be called off as soon as a “fair” deal was agreed.
But he said the action had already achieved results, as railway firms “haven’t been able to implement any of their plans”.
He said: “We’ve pushed them [rail bosses] back on all the stuff they wanted to do – they wanted to make thousands of our people redundant, they wanted to shut every booking office in Britain, restructure our engineering workers, [and] cut the catering service.
“What we haven’t got is a pay deal, we haven’t got any guarantees on our members’ futures, but we have stopped them doing the worst aspects of their proposals and their ideas.”
Mick Lynch (centre) on a picket line last month
Mr Lynch added: “It has been a success, our members are still with us, they’ve had three ballots to continue with the strike action under the law.
“Other people seem to have been inspired to fight back and take action in their own industries, so it has been a success and it’s put trade unions back on the map in Britain.”
The RMT and ASLEF have rejected pay offers put forward by the government so far this year, on the grounds that proposed terms on conditions and pay were not good enough, especially amid ongoing high inflation.
But some other disputes have been resolved, including a separate row involving RMT workers at Network Rail, after members voted to accept a revised pay offer in March.
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A spokesperson for the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the UK’s train service providers, hit back at the RMT’s claims and said “common-sense” reforms were “long overdue”.
They said: “There have been three pay deals offered which the RMT executive have reneged despite their negotiators in the room agreeing the terms.
“We’ve said all along we just want railway workers to have their say on the fair and affordable offer of up to a 13% rise over two years, plus guarantees on job security.”
The RDG added: “The only thing they [the RMT] have achieved is continuing to take money out of their members’ pockets, inflicting misery on thousands of people and damaging an industry which is vital to Britain’s economy and their own members’ livelihoods.”
Rachel Reeves has been urged by a think tank to cut national insurance and increase income tax to create a “level playing field” and protect workers’ pay.
The Resolution Foundation said the chancellor should send a “decisive signal” that she will make “tough decisions” on tax.
Ms Reeves is expected to outline significant tax rises in the upcoming budget in November.
The Resolution Foundation has suggested these changes should include a 2p cut to national insurance as well as a 2p rise in income tax, which Adam Corlett, its principal economist, said “should form part of wider efforts to level the playing field on tax”.
The think tank, which used to be headed by Torsten Bell, a Labour MP who is now a key aide to Ms Reeves and a pensions minister, said the move would help to address “unfairness” in the tax system.
As more people pay income tax than national insurance, including pensioners and landlords, the think tank estimates the switch would go some way in raising the £20bn in tax it thinks would be needed by 2029/2030 to offset increased borrowing costs, flat growth and new spending commitments. Other estimates go as high as £51bn.
Torsten Bell appearing on Sky News
‘Significant tax rises needed’
Another proposal by the think tank would see a gradual lowering of the threshold at which businesses pay VAT from £90,000 to £30,000, as this would help “promote fair competition” and raise £2bn by the end of the decade.
The Resolution Foundation also recommends increasing the tax on dividends, addressing a “worrying” growth in unpaid corporation tax from small businesses, applying a carbon charge to long-haul flights and shipping, and expanding taxation of sugar and salt.
“Policy U-turns, higher borrowing costs and lower productivity growth mean that the chancellor will need to act to avoid borrowing costs rising even further this autumn,” Mr Corlett said.
“Significant tax rises will be needed for the chancellor to send a clear signal that the UK’s public finances are under control.”
He added that while any tax rises are “likely to be painful”, Ms Reeves should do “all she can to avoid loading further pain onto workers’ pay packets”.
The government has repeatedly insisted it will keep its manifesto promise not to raise income tax, national insurance or VAT.
A Treasury spokesperson said in response to the think tank report it does “not comment on speculation around future changes to tax policy”.
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Chancellor urged to freeze alcohol duty
Meanwhile, Ms Reeves has been urged to freeze alcohol duty in the upcoming budget and not increase the rate of excise tax on alcohol until the end of the current parliament.
The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), UK Spirits Alliance, Welsh Whisky Association, English Whisky Guild and Drinks Ireland said in an open letter that the current regime was “unfair” and has put a “strain” on members who are “struggling”.
The bodies are also urging Ms Reeves “to ensure there will be no further widening of the tax differential between spirits and other alcohol categories”.
A Treasury spokesperson said there will be no export duty, lower licensing fees, reduced tariffs, and a cap on corporation tax to make it easier for British distilleries to thrive.
Leave retailers alone, Reeves told
This comes as the British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned that food inflation will rise and remain above 5% into next year if the retail industry is hit by further tax rises in the November budget.
The BRC voiced concerns that around 4,000 large shops could experience a rise in their business rates if they are included in the government’s new surtax for properties with a rateable value – an estimation of how much it would cost to rent a property for a year – over £500,000, and this could lead to price rises for consumers.
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Latest ONS figures put food inflation at 4.9%, the highest level since 2022/2023.
The Bank of England left the interest rate unchanged last week amid fears that rising food prices were putting mounting pressure on headline inflation.
“The biggest risk to food prices would be to include large shops – including supermarkets – in the new surtax on large properties,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.
She added: “Removing all shops from the surtax can be done without any cost to the taxpayer, and would demonstrate the chancellor’s commitment to bring down inflation.”
Donald Trump has revealed that media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan could be part of a deal in which TikTok in the United States will come under American control.
The US president also namedropped Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, as a possible participant in the deal during an interview with Fox News, which is owned by the Murdochs.
“I think they’re going to be in the group. A couple of others. Really great people, very prominent people,” Mr Trump said. “And they’re also American patriots, you know, they love this country. I think they’re going to do a really good job.”
Mr Trump said that Larry Ellison, founder and CEO of software firm Oracle, was part of the same group. His involvement in the potential TikTok deal had previously been revealed.
President Donald Trump speaking to reporters outside the White House. Pic: AP/Mark Schiefelbein
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Saturday that Oracle would be responsible for the app’s data and security, with Americans set to control six of the seven seats for a planned TikTok board.
This comes after Mr Trump said he and China’s Xi Jinping held a “very productive call” on Friday, discussing the final approval for the TikTok deal, much of which is still unknown.
Once confirmed, the deal should stop TikTok from being banned in the US after lawmakers decided it posed a security risk to citizens’ data.
Officials warned that the algorithm TikTok uses is vulnerable to manipulation by Chinese authorities, who can use it to push specific content on the social media platform in a way that is difficult to detect.
Congress had ordered the app shut down for American users by January 2025 if its Chinese owner ByteDance didn’t sell its assets in the country – but the ban has been delayed four times by President Trump.
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Mr Trump said on Sunday that he might be “a little prejudiced” about TikTok, after telling reporters on Friday: “I wasn’t a fan of TikTok and then I got to use it and then I became a fan and it helped me win an election in a landslide.”
After the call with Mr Xi, Mr Trump said in a Truth Social post: “We made progress on many very important issues, including Trade, Fentanyl, the need to bring the War between Russia and Ukraine to an end, and the approval of the TikTok Deal.”
Mr Trump later told reporters at the White House that Xi had approved the deal, but said it still needed to be signed.
Representatives for the Murdochs, Mr Dell and Mr Ellison have not yet commented on a potential TikTok deal.
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