Mark Harper, the UK government new transport secretary, said the adoption of revised working methods would be required to break the deadlock with unions and resolve the long-running labor dispute. On Sunday, he spoke to British national media, coming face to face with the leader of the largest union, RMT, on Thursday last week. Hopes for a speedy resolution seem to be fading again. Railway Supply magazine writes about this with reference to RailTech.

Strike

The Department for Transport, often accused of stalling talks between train operators and unions, took a proactive stance last week, culminating in a high-profile round of media briefings.

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Speaking to the BBC, Mark Harper told the presenter that the rail industry would need reforms in its way of working to enable the kind of efficiency that would allow operators to offer better pay offers. “It is the reforms that free up savings, which then open up the possibility for companies to make wage offers to unions,” he said. “Both of these things have to happen in parallel.”

Whatever was said on Thursday and Sunday, the trade unions did not appear to have softened. RMT has already called strikes for four 48-hour periods on December 13-14 and 16-17, and on January 3-4 and 6-7.

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