Almost
nine out of 10 members of the travelling public believe the RMT railworkers
union is putting its own interests ahead those of passengers by balloting for
strike action.
A
survey of almost 2,000 people by Network Rail and YouGov shows that 81 per cent
of the public believe a national railway strike would damage British jobs and
businesses, while 75 per cent say a strike is unjustified.
The
union is to publish the result of a strike ballot tomorrow, having refused a
3.5 per cent pay offer from Network Rail.
"A
strike would be deeply damaging to everyone – passengers, businesses and our
employees," said a Network Rail spokesman. "With punctuality now at a
four year high, the public clearly do not understand why a strike is justified
at this time."
The
full survey results are:
‘By
threatening a national rail strike the RMT union is putting its own interests
before the needs of passengers’
Agree
strongly             44 per cent
Tend to agree              41 per cent
Tend to disagree          9 per cent
Disagree strongly         3 per cent
Don’t know                 3 per cent
‘A
national railway strike would damage British jobs and businesses’
Agree
strongly             37 per cent
Tend to agree              44 per cent
Tend to disagree          11 per cent
Disagree strongly         2 per cent
Don’t know                 5 per cent
‘The
RMT union would be justified in calling a national rail strike even though it
has rejected a 3.5% pay offer’
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Agree
strongly             3 per cent
Tend to agree              11 per cent
Tend to disagree          39 per cent
Disagree strongly         36 per cent
Don’t know                 11 per cent
