‘The strike is strong, the public are still behind us and members are strong and want to continue,’ striking RMT London Area Council Rep Paul Chadwick told News Line on the striking railway workers’ picket line outside Euston Station in Central London yesterday morning.
Paul continued: ‘We had a referendum on continuing the strike and members voted not to accept a pay cut or the attack on our terms and conditions.
‘We need a general strike to bring the country together. Unity is strength. We need a change of government. I would be for an equality government.’
RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch reported yesterday that talks will resume with the government next Monday.
He said: ‘They contacted us late on Monday night to say, “let’s get a meeting in”. And that’s been confirmed for early next week. We always go to meetings in a positive frame of mind. We have a spirit of goodwill and are trying to develop ideas, but they need to change the equation a bit.
‘We’ve heard what they’ve got to say, they’ve heard what we’ve got to say. We think there are some sensible changes to what’s been proposed, and that it could develop into an agreement. And that’s what we were always working for.
‘I don’t know if they’ll make offers or whether they’ll just tell the managers to go off and make some offers.
‘We don’t want to have to reballot. We don’t want to take any further industrial action but if they don’t change the formulations that they’ve currently got, that’s what we may be forced to do.
‘So the quicker we can get a solution to this and develop the ideas and some documents that everyone can sign up to the better.
‘The better it will be for the railway industry, for our members, for the passengers, and the country. So that’s what we’re working towards.’
‘I don’t know what they are going to say on Monday. If it’s just the same thing again, window dressing for their media operation then that is going to be very disappointing.’