‘GROW UP AND DROP RAIL STRIKES NOW’

DZ JAVID CONDEMNS UNION AS MINISTERS CONSIDER NEW LAW TO GUARANTEE TRAINS RUN

- Rachael Burford and Nicholas Cecil

UNION bosses were today told to “act like grown ups” to avoid a summer of crippling strikes set to cause misery for millions of commuters.

Cabinet minister Sajid Javid issued the demand after the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union announced plans for a string of walk-outs later this month.

The Health Secretary said the Government was “looking at all options” to prevent disruption after a senior Tory MP suggested new legislation forcing some train services to run during strikes could be introduced.

“It would be wrong at every level to have this strike,” Mr Javid told Times Radio.

“I hope they sit down with the industry, think again, act sensibly, act like grown-ups and understand that not only would a strike be wrong for the travellers, the misery that would cause, but actually I think it would be wrong for the workers in the industry.”

He also stressed that the Government had put in £16 billion to support the rail industry, equivalent to around £600 per household, and that this level of public funding was not sustainable.