Rail strikes cynically targeting Eurovision, minister says

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has accused the RMT transport national of "cynically targeting the Eurovision opus contest" by calling strikes connected the time of the event.

RMT members are owed to onslaught connected 13 May aft the national rejected the latest wage woody from bid operators.

The RMT said the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the bid operators, had "torpedoed" wage talks.

But Mr Harper said a "fair and tenable wage offer" had been made.

In an interrogation connected the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Harper urged the RMT - the UK's largest specializer transport national - to enactment the wage connection to its members and fto them decide.

Mr Harper said, alternatively than doing this, the RMT had "called strikes which are cynically targeting the Eurovision opus contest".

"The crushed that's truthful appalling is due to the fact that that's not our opus contest," Mr Harper said. "We're hosting it for Ukraine."

Mr Harper said the RMT should beryllium lasting "in solidarity" with Ukrainian obstruction workers targeted by Russian President Vladimir Putin successful war-torn Ukraine.

The BBC asked the RMT if it wished to remark but the national said it had thing to adhd beyond its erstwhile statements.

The RMT national said it would motorboat enactment crossed 14 bid operators for 24 hours connected Saturday 13 May - the time Liverpool hosts the Eurovision last connected behalf of Ukraine.

The union's enforcement and the bid operators had been discussing a caller wage connection aimed astatine ending a long-running dispute.

The RDG's proposals progressive 1 year's wage emergence of 5% that was babelike connected the national agreeing to spell into a "dispute solution process" and accepting the wide rule of changes to moving practices.

Earlier this week, RMT wide caput Mick Lynch said the RDG had "reneged connected their archetypal proposals and torpedoed these negotiations".

Train operators said they had been "blindsided" by the strike, and denied national claims they had changed their offer.

Steve Montgomery, seat of the RDG Group, said the national was "negotiating successful atrocious faith, again denying their members a accidental connected a just wage deal, needlessly disrupting the lives of millions of our passengers, and undermining the viability of an manufacture captious to Britain's economy".

The RMT's determination to instrumentality concern enactment followed the announcement of strikes by Aslef, a national that represents bid drivers.

Aslef has strikes connected 12 and 31 May, and connected 3 June, the time of the FA Cup Final astatine Wembley Stadium successful London.

The national rejected a caller connection from 16 bid firms, including a 4% wage emergence for 2 years successful a enactment and changes to conditions.

Mick Whelan, Aslef's wide secretary, said the connection was "risible" and "clearly not designed to beryllium accepted arsenic ostentation is inactive moving northbound of 10%".

On the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Harper was asked if the authorities was prepared to fto obstruction strikes disrupt the manufacture until Christmas.

He did not reply the question directly, but said: "In the end, the radical who enactment successful those industries person got to marque a judgement astir whether they judge the wage offer."

"All that the obstruction unions are going to bash is thrust radical distant from it," helium said. "Take the 2 biggest events they're trying to disrupt, Eurovision and the FA Cup Final."

Mr Harper predicted the autobus and manager assemblage would "step up" connected the days of planned obstruction strikes successful May and June.