RMT union to hold fresh talks with rail bosses on Wednesday The RMT union has said it will meet rail bosses for fresh talks on Wednesday. Commenting on today’s strike - which it said had seen “fantastic” turnout at picket lines and “exceeded expectations” - the union confirmed that it would be meeting Network Rail and the train operating companies. But, the BBC reports, even if an agreement were reached, it would not stop Thursday’s planned strike, but that with 48 hours’ notice it could potentially prevent disruption on Saturday. The RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, said: Today’s turnout at picket lines has been fantastic and exceeded expectations in our struggle for job security, defending conditions and a decent pay rise. Our members will continue the campaign and have shown outstanding unity in pursuit of a settlement to this dispute. RMT members are leading the way for all workers in this country who are sick and tired of having their pay and conditions slashed by a mixture of big business profits and government policy. Now is the time to stand up and fight for every single railway worker in this dispute that we will win. That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed from the rail strikes blog for today. Thanks for following along throughout the day. The rail strikes aren’t having the impact that unions “might have hoped” for, according to the Department for Transport. In a statement issued tonight, a spokesperson said: These are desperately needed reforms that modernise the railway and put it on a sustainable footing for passengers and taxpayers. Unions have shut down big parts of the rail network, hitting local businesses and unfairly cutting people off from hospitals, schools and work. However, early data shows that unlike in the past many people now have the opportunity to work from home, so we haven’t even had a rush to the roads, as traffic has instead gone online, which means the unions aren’t having the overall impact they might have hoped. It follows comments earlier today from the RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch. He said: Today’s turnout at picket lines has been fantastic and exceeded expectations in our struggle for job security, defending conditions and a decent pay rise. Our members will continue the campaign and have shown outstanding unity in pursuit of a settlement to this dispute. RMT members are leading the way for all workers in this country who are sick and tired of having their pay and conditions slashed by a mixture of big business profits and government policy Now is the time to stand up and fight for every single railway worker in this dispute that we will win. Shadow minister Lady Chapman said Labour was clear the only way to resolve the rail dispute is through negotiation. She told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: We’re very clear on this. The only way this gets resolved is through negotiation, and for that to happen you’ve got to be around the table. The government could use its convening power to make that happen. It’s choosing not to. We think that’s irresponsible. And in the end, you know, the public will make their own mind up about the government’s motivations in all of this. Chapman added that any suggestion there may be further strikes down the line just makes the need to negotiate “more urgent”. “We don’t want to see what we’ve seen today repeated across the summer. Nobody does,” she said. “The idea that we are going to see more of this, I think, should just make people resolve more strongly, actually, to get this resolved quickly.” Most people (58%) believe the rail strikes are justified, according to a survey of more than 2,300 adults by Savanta ComRes. Younger adults aged 18-34 (72%) and Labour voters (79%) were more likely to see the strikes as justified compared with their older (aged 55+, 44%) and Conservative-voting (38%) counterparts. Three out of five of those polled said they were generally supportive of the principle of industrial action, while just 35% were generally opposed, PA Media reported. Two-thirds said the government had not done enough to avoid the strikes, while 61% say the same of the transport secretary, Grant Shapps. However, a separate poll of 2,516 adults, published by YouGov on Tuesday afternoon, suggested only 37% of people were supportive of the strike this week, while 45% said they opposed it. Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta ComRes, said: Much has been made of whether or not the public support these strikes, and our polling, that included an explanation of the dispute rather than an uninformed test of perceptions, shows a majority finding justification in the decision of rail workers to strike, along with general support for the principle of workers striking. What will be interesting over the coming days is to what extent the public mood changes. Fieldwork here was conducted before the strike began. After a week of coverage of likely disruption, will the public be as sympathetic? And what impact will that have on those other unions threatening to ballot their members over a pay deal nowhere near in line with high inflation? These issues are just more things to give this government a headache as it heads towards a summer where the rising cost of living will have further negative consequences. Here"s a summary of the latest developments... At what would usually be rush hour for commuters, here are the latest developments on today’s rail strikes: The RMT union said it would meet rail bosses for fresh talks on Wednesday. But, the BBC reports, even if an agreement were reached, it would not stop Thursday’s planned strike, but that with 48 hours’ notice it could potentially prevent disruption on Saturday. Downing Street has said it will “not give in” to demands from rail unions as Boris Johnson warned commuters they must “stay the course”. The prime minister’s spokesperson said Johnson believed it was “in the long-term interest of both the country and the public to not give in” to demands that he claimed would “stop us being able to modernise the railways”. Ed Davey claims Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps are posing as bystanders while millions suffer, calling for them to intervene. Writing in the Guardian, the Liberal Democrats leader accuses the prime minister and his transport secretary, whom he brands “Sleepy Shapps”, of failing to plan ahead to minimise disruption. Amid widespread industrial action across rail services, postal workers are also set to vote over whether to strike in a row over pay, it was announced today. More than 115,000 Royal Mail workers will be balloted in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action. Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, has condemned the strikes as “extremely frustrating” and blamed the government for the disruption to the capital’s transport services. He said the strikes would have a “devastating impact” on the capital’s economy and that he hoped unions would return to the negotiating table with Transport for London and the government. Looking ahead to Wednesday, train services across the UK are set to face continued knock-on disruption - with only around 60% of normal weekday services running. That’s it from me for today. Handing over now to Tom Ambrose. Thanks for reading. A Labour shadow minister has said it is “perfectly reasonable” for the party’s Scottish leader to take a different stance on the rail strikes to Keir Starmer. Jenny Chapman, shadow minister of state at the Cabinet Office, said she was “very comfortable” with Anas Sarwar visiting a picket line - despite Starmer’s warnig to frontbenchers not to. She told BBC Radio 4’s PM programme: Keir Starmer is a prime minister in waiting leading a government in waiting, and it is important that he behaves in that way. So when he says that the right thing for the government to do is to try to resolve this and get parties round the table, he means it, so he has to walk the walk on that and not just say it. I think it’s perfectly reasonable for Anas to take a different view. He is the leader of Scottish Labour. He makes his own decisions. She added: I’ve known Anas for a very long time. He’s a friend, I have complete respect for him, as does Keir Starmer. But Keir Starmer in the end is the person who we want to see as the prime minister, and if he was I can tell you now that he’d be taking a very, very different approach to the one which Boris Johnson is taking. In London, Clapham Junction station - usually one of the busiest train hubs in the country - was unusually quiet ahead of the evening rush hour, reports PA. RMT union to hold fresh talks with rail bosses on Wednesday The RMT union has said it will meet rail bosses for fresh talks on Wednesday. Commenting on today’s strike - which it said had seen “fantastic” turnout at picket lines and “exceeded expectations” - the union confirmed that it would be meeting Network Rail and the train operating companies. But, the BBC reports, even if an agreement were reached, it would not stop Thursday’s planned strike, but that with 48 hours’ notice it could potentially prevent disruption on Saturday. The RMT general secretary, Mick Lynch, said: Today’s turnout at picket lines has been fantastic and exceeded expectations in our struggle for job security, defending conditions and a decent pay rise. Our members will continue the campaign and have shown outstanding unity in pursuit of a settlement to this dispute. RMT members are leading the way for all workers in this country who are sick and tired of having their pay and conditions slashed by a mixture of big business profits and government policy. Now is the time to stand up and fight for every single railway worker in this dispute that we will win. No 10 says Boris Johnson will "not give in" to rail unions" demands Downing Street has said it will “not give in” to demands from rail unions as Boris Johnson warned commuters they must “stay the course”. The prime minister’s spokesperson said Johnson believes it is “in the long-term interest of both the country and the public to not give in” to demands that he claimed would “stop us being able to modernise the railways”. “We wouldn’t want this to be inflicted on the public for longer than necessary and indeed for it to damage people’s confidence in using our railways for longer than necessary,” he added. “But it is very much one for the unions to decide.” It comes as Johnson told the cabinet that without fundamental changes to the system, rail firms risk going bust and passengers face even higher fares that could lead to them abandoning trains, reports PA. Following today’s industrial action - the biggest rail strike in a generation - further strikes are planned for Thursday and Saturday. Johnson called for “union barons” to sit down with Network Rail and the train companies and agree to a package of reforms. He said the strike was causing “significant disruption and inconvenience up and down the country”. It is making it “more difficult for people to get to work, risking people’s appointments, making it more difficult for kids to sit exams - all sorts of unnecessary aggravations,” he added. Ed Davey accuses Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps of "playing politics with people"s lives" while millions suffer amid strikes Ed Davey claims Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps are posing as bystanders while millions suffer, calling for them to intervene. Writing in the Guardian, the Liberal Democrats leader accuses the prime minister and his transport secretary, whom he brands “Sleepy Shapps”, of failing to plan ahead to minimise disruption. He writes: Boris Johnson and Grant Shapps in particular are playing politics with people’s lives, as they pretend to be innocent bystanders to the dispute. Government ministers now directly set and agree the budgets and strategic policies of the rail companies, so they cannot simply wash their hands of any responsibility: rail managers have only modest leeway in their negotiations. Yet, thanks to parliamentary questions asked by my colleague Sarah Olney, we know ministers haven’t met with the RMT to try to stop these strikes, for well over a month. Alex Lawson, the Guardian’s energy correspondent, has been speaking to some of the thousands of tourists in London forced to change their plans by the rail strikes. On Baker Street, a group of 41 students from La Mola high school in Alicante, Spain, were visiting the London Beatles Store after walking across town from Russell Square, Lawson writes. They did not know about the strike action. “We’re going to walk 25 kilometres today, we’re a bit exhausted,” said student Magda Caceres. Royal Mail workers also set to vote over whether to strike Amid widespread industrial action across rail services, postal workers are also set to vote over whether to strike in a row over pay, it was announced today. More than 115,000 Royal Mail workers will be balloted in the coming weeks on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action. Ballot papers will be sent to members of the Communication Workers Union (CMU) on 28 June and the result announced next month, it was announced on Tuesday. Terry Pullinger, the CWU deputy general secretary, said in a video posted on Twitter: Today we will be serving a notice on Royal Mail Group over a pay claim - our claim for an inflation-based, no-strings pay award. The company has imposed a 2% pay award, miles away from where inflation is, totally inadequate. A Royal Mail spokesperson told PA: We believe there are no grounds for industrial action. We offered a deal worth up to 5.5% for CWU grade colleagues, the biggest increase we have offered for many years, which was rejected by the CWU. We have further talks on change with CWU this week. We hope this will ultimately lead to an agreement on the changes required to ensure Royal Mail can grow and remain competitive in a fast-moving industry, securing jobs for the future and retaining our place as the industry leader on pay and terms and conditions. We value the work we do with CWU and remain committed to agreeing a deal for tomorrow, not just today.