RMT boss hits back at sister union as row over train strikes escalates

Mick Lynch’s comments came afterThe Independent revealed a growing row between two of Britain’s largest rail unions

The boss of the RMT has lashed out at the head of its sister union after it claimed it had put jobs at risk by pushing ahead with rail strikes.

Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union, hit back at Peter Pendle, the head of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA), accusing him of “not knowing anything about our industry”.

It came after Mr Pendle told The Independent that the RMT lacked “strategic thinking” and accused the union leadership of blowing up a pay deal it has struck with train companies.

The escalating row between two of Britain’s biggest rail unions comes as thousands of RMT members - including station staff, train managers and catering staff - took part in a fresh round of strikes in a dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Asked about Mr Pendle’s comments, Mr Lynch said the TSSA is “largely an irrelevance on the railway” and is risking thousands of its members being made redundant.

He told LBC that Mr Pendle had nothing to do with the negotiation of the deal on offer, which included a five per cent pay rise and no compulsory redundancies until 2025.

“Peter Pendle has never worked on the railway. He doesn’t know anything about our industry,” he said.

The deal on offer predated Mr Pendle’s appointment, but the TSSA was consistently involved in talks with the Rail Delivery Group acting on behalf of train operating companies. According to the Trades Union Congress, the RMT has 81,199 members, while the TSSA has 17,764.

In a scathing attack, Mr Lynch added: “They decided to surrender in this dispute and give up and therefore thousands of their members will be made redundant if they are not careful.

“But they are largely an irrelevance on the railway these days, they are a very small union.

“They are losing all their members, they’ve got hardly anyone left working on the railway. So they’re a bit of an irrelevance in the course of this dispute.

“They have accepted something that we cannot accept, so it is up to them.”

Rail operators, backed by the government, said the RMT’s refusal to sign up to the deal meant it does not stand for the TSSA.

They have now reneged on the agreement and moved to close ticket offices – with staff preparing for as many as 2,000 job cuts.

Talking about the deal, Mr Pendle told The Independent: “The bottom line is because of the line that our colleagues are taking, the deal – which was a good deal – has been swept away and all these changes are being imposed. So you’d have to question the strategic thinking of our sister union on this issue.”

He added: "The RMT in their wisdom decided not to sign up ... it’s not for me to tell sister unions how they should conduct their negotiating arrangements...

“I just find the situation that we’re in, where we had an agreement, that governed [these changes] – I mean, we’re opposed to them, but if they’re going to be done they need to be done properly, and with the least damage to the travelling public and people working in the ticket offices. And my view is that that’s not happening at the moment.”

Mr Pendle was made interim general secretary after Manuel Cortes, who led the union for 11 years, retired amid allegations of sexual harassment. He denies any wrongdoing and apologised for any hurt caused by his behaviour.