Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has described calls for him to intervene to settle the ongoing dispute between the RMT transport union and rail employers as a “diversionary tactic” and a “stunt”.
But he said outdated practices “must end” for a solution to be possible.
In an interview with the BBC, Mr Shapps conceded that he and the Treasury had “set out an overall mandate” dictating how much money was available and that he had given the deal final approval.
But he said he did not want and should not get involved in the details of the negotiations between the RMT and industry, saying the employers are “the only ones who can settle this strike”.
Thousands of RMT members who work for Network Rail and 13 rail companies went out on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday last week.
Half of the rail network was closed on strike days, and the consequences of this led to business interruptions on the following days. The union has warned that more strikes could follow.
The Transport Secretary told the BBC the dispute could be “easily settled because there are so many modernizations of outdated working practices – for example two vans often have to be sent on a maintenance call when only one van is needed”.
The RMT, in a statement ahead of Mr Shapps’ comments, said sending multiple vans “is both a safety and technical standards issue.
“It would be pointless to send employees to one location without their gear, equipment and tools, which is why the vehicles and associated equipment are sent to the job site in more than one van.
The transport minister said: “We want to upgrade our railways, make them digitally fit for the 21st century. At the same time, we also need the labor practices that are coming out of the 20th century — we can’t have a digital railroad, and something like steam age labor practices that come with that.”
Mr Shapps accused unions of not allowing workers to fill out digital timesheets. Some rail companies already have Sunday work as part of their normal roster, but he said “those who don’t have to”.
The RMT replied: “Network Rail intends to consult on the use of digital timesheets. We didn’t reject it… We have no fundamental opposition to its introduction. We’re using digital timesheets… on other parts of the railroad.” It also said previously, “In a lot of places we have agreements that Sunday is part of the workweek.”
The RMT has already rejected a salary offer totaling 3% uplift. Network Rail has insisted more would be possible if modernized working practices were accepted.
It has been said that the 1,800 job losses that would accompany these reforms could likely be matched by voluntary layoffs.
But the union demands a guarantee without redundancies.
When asked why redundancies could not be guaranteed, the transport minister said it was something the RMT needed to discuss with employers.
However, he added: “In what business… could you say: we’re never going to have to lose anyone from their job?”. He pointed out that previous voluntary redundancy programs had been oversubscribed.
Mr Shapps refused to quantify what salary increase would be possible if all the proposed changes in labor practices were implemented. He also didn’t want to say if 7% was too much.
He admitted he knew how much money was available for a pay rise but insisted it was up to the employers in the negotiations. “I can’t discuss it on national television. If I did, I would be effectively intervening in those discussions.”
However, he added: “What we do know is that we have an increase in inflation – we don’t want that built into the system [and] end up going on for years like they did in the 1970s”.
Mr Shapps did not directly answer a question about whether the government would be willing to provide more money if it offered the flexibility to prevent another strike.
But he said: “We still have labor practices that date back to the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. And this has to end. The strike cannot be resolved without these things ending.”
He continued, “There are so many things that are required to bring this railroad up to date in terms of labor practices.
He said because many people have been working from home for two years, the only people affected by strikes are people who have to go to work: “the hospital porter, the cleaner, people who have no other choice”. .
Mr Shapps said the outcome of the dispute will affect how much fares rise next year.
“Obviously if we want decently low fare increases we need to lower the cost of the railway and that means running it more efficiently. And that’s all these steam-age work practices that are sadly obsolete. “
Annual fare increases for regulated tickets are normally calculated using the UK RPI inflation figure for July. The RPI climbed to 11.7% in May. The fare increase for next year has not yet been determined.
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