PRESS RELEASE : Rail Dispute – Open Letter from Welsh Government and the Wales TUC [December 2022]
The press release issued by the TUC on 16 December 2022.
In the open letter, the Deputy Minister for Climate Change, Lee Waters, has said:
“Due to the confrontational attitude towards industrial relations displayed by this UK Government, the UK-wide rail dispute is having a knock-on impact on rail services operated by Transport for Wales, and passengers continue to face severe disruption as a result.”
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “We welcome this intervention from the Welsh Government.
“The fact that we have been able to reach agreements with rail companies where the Welsh and Scottish Government governments have responsibility clearly shows that it is the actions of the UK government that is blocking a resolution to the UK wide rail disputes.”
Shavanah Taj, Wales TUC General Secretary, said: “The UK Government’s decision to block a resolution to the rail disputes is harming Wales’s economy. Welsh Government and the national rail operator (Transport for Wales) have successfully negotiated a settlement – the UK Government must now follow their lead.
The full text of the letter is below.
Rail dispute between RMT and Network Rail and UK train operating companies
The Welsh Government wants to see an end to the long-running dispute between the RMT and Network Rail and the UK Government-controlled train operating companies.
On Transport for Wales services, rail workers have voted to accept a negotiated fair pay offer, which has not been conditional on cuts to staffing and services.
However, due to the confrontational attitude towards industrial relations displayed by this UK Government, the UK-wide rail dispute is having a knock-on impact on rail services operated by Transport for Wales, and passengers continue to face severe disruption as a result.
To protect business, passengers, and rail workers, it is imperative that the UK Government acts quickly to bring this dispute to an end.
It can do this by learning lessons from the collaborative, social partnership approach adopted in Wales and allow the rail companies and RMT to negotiate a deal that is fair and acceptable to Network Rail employees and employees of the UK train operating companies.
