Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at Community Rail and 14 prepare operators will stroll out on August 18 and 20. It means ScotRail companies are more likely to be crippled on days in the course of the Edinburgh festivals as signallers stroll out.
The union beforehand introduced a strike for July 27, the day earlier than the Commonwealth Video games opens in Birmingham.
RMT common secretary Mick Lynch mentioned: “The rail business and the Authorities want to grasp that this dispute won’t merely vanish.
“They should get critical about offering a proposal on pay which helps cope with the cost-of-living disaster, job safety for our members and gives good circumstances at work.
“Latest proposals from Community Rail fell effectively quick on pay and on security round upkeep work.
“And the prepare working corporations haven’t even made us a pay supply in current negotiations.
“Now Grant Shapps (Transport Secretary) has deserted his forlorn hopes for the job of prime minister, he can now get again to his day job and assist type this mess out.
“We stay open for talks, however we’ll proceed our marketing campaign till we attain a negotiated settlement.”
Andrew Haines, chief government of Community Rail, mentioned: “By saying much more strike dates, the RMT has dropped any pretence that that is about reaching a deal.
“It’s clear one of the best pursuits of passengers and our employees are taking second place to the union’s bosses’ political marketing campaign.”
The drivers’ union Aslef earlier introduced its members at eight prepare corporations will strike on July 30 in the identical dispute, which is able to affect cross-border LNER companies however not ScotRail.
A spokesperson for the Rail Supply Group mentioned: “This can be a massively disappointing announcement from the RMT’s management which is able to upset passengers’ summer season plans, undermine struggling companies and upend the business’s restoration.
“We wish to give our individuals a rise in pay, however asking taxpayers to shoulder extra of the burden once they have already contributed £600 per family in the course of the pandemic, or anticipating passengers to fund it by paying extra for his or her tickets, isn’t honest or sustainable.
“As an alternative, now we have a duty to make modifications to long-outdated working practices so we will adapt to post-Covid journey patterns, convey our railway updated and provides our passengers a extra punctual and dependable service.
“Fairly than staging counterproductive strikes, we ask the RMT’s management to proceed speaking so we will come to a deal that works for our individuals, our passengers and for taxpayers.”
A Division for Transport spokesperson mentioned: “Because the Secretary of State mentioned solely yesterday, current talks have merely been for present whereas the RMT have been planning how finest to create additional distress for passengers throughout the UK. These strikes will likely be a kick within the enamel for tens of millions of people that stumped up £600 per family to maintain the railway working all through the pandemic.
”The rail business has to modernise and be introduced into the twenty first century for the good thing about passengers and employees alike. There’s no getting round that and we’re extraordinarily disillusioned to see extra strikes introduced.”
