TSSA demands Johnson stands up to Sunak over rail dispute offer

TSSA General Secretary, Manuel Cortes, has called on Boris Johnson to “stand up to the Treasury” after a media report suggested the Prime Minister and Chancellor are at loggerheads about a deal aimed at averting a summer of strike action on the railways.

The Daily Telegraph reports that Johnson has ‘clashed’ with Rishi Sunak, with the Chancellor refusing to sanction an offer which would see a 5 per cent pay rise for thousands of rail workers.

TSSA is in dispute with Network Rail and train operating companies covered by the Department for Transport over pay, job security and conditions. The union is currently consulting Reps and members about possible industrial action.

Commenting, Cortes said: “Instead of bickering the two men at the top of the government should put their heads together and make sure our members, who were heroes during the pandemic, have a deal which properly safeguards their futures.

“Day after day we see Tory Ministers simply unable to grasp the scale of the cost of living crisis. Our demands are reasonable - a rate of pay that keeps pace with inflation and guarantees of no compulsory redundancies this year.

“We need to know quickly who is running the show. Does the Prime Minister have the backbone to stand up to the Treasury and prevent a summer of discontent across our rail network?

“That is why yesterday I wrote to Boris Johnson asking for a meeting, to examine the possibility of finding a way forward in our current dispute.”