Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Gareth Davies and Grant Shapps

Thursday 30th June 2022 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Stamford) (Con)]

18. What assessment he has made of the economic impact of the rail industrial action between 21 and 25 June 2022.

[The Secretary of State for Transport (Grant Shapps)]

The Centre for Economics and Business Research has estimated the cost of the RMT’s strike action to be at least £91 million due to workplace absences. However, Network Rail has estimated the direct cost of last week’s strike to the rail industry to be between £100 million and £150 million.

[Grant Shapps]

My hon. Friend is right, but it is actually even worse than that. Not only was £16 billion of taxpayers’ money put in—£600 per family in this country, or £160,000 per individual railway employee—but the RMT balloted for strike action under the false pretence that there would not be a pay rise, when in fact the pay freeze had already ended. That is unjustified and unjustifiable action that the whole House should be condemning.

[Gareth Davies]

Given the significant cost of the strikes, what progress can we make towards the introduction of minimum service levels, like they have in many other European countries, albeit as a longer-term solution?

[Grant Shapps]

We are intending to progress with minimum service levels. That is in our manifesto, and we will be introducing legislation later this year. As my hon. Friend rightly points out, minimum service levels exist in civilised countries such as France, Italy and Spain, and it is about time we had them in the UK as well.