NATIONAL strikes on the railways could be prolonged indefinitely unless Tory ministers abandon their “ideological war against rail workers,” transport unions warned today.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch called on the government to reverse its stance of refusing to intervene in the dispute over pay, jobs and conditions, which today saw a fifth day of walkouts.

The industrial action, which also involves the TSSA union, is set to be repeated on Saturday, as thousands of employees at Network Rail and several train operating companies down tools over years of real-terms pay cuts and threats to slash safety-critical jobs.

Only about a fifth of trains were running today, as workers across Britain picketed train stations and rail depots.

In a letter to Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, Mr Lynch said: “Your government has made the decision to use taxpayers’ money to bail out private train companies from being liable for revenue lost because of industrial action.

“[This is] on the condition the same companies comply with government instructions to hold down pay, cut thousands of safety-critical rail jobs, introduce driver only trains and close ticket offices across the network.”

More than £120m of public cash has been used to bail out private rail firms to date, according to the union.

“Using taxpayers’ money to satisfy the anti-union agenda of the Tory Party is shameful and means the dispute will be prolonged indefinitely as the train companies don’t lose a penny as a result of industrial action and therefore have no incentive to settle the disputes,” Mr Lynch added.

“Instead of waging an ideological war against rail workers, millions of voters would rather the government allow for a fair negotiated settlement.”

TSSA head Manuel Cortes praised his “magnificent” members who have been forced into strikes by bosses’ “intransigence, no doubt aided and abetted by Grant Shapps.

“We very much hope that common sense will now prevail. [He] must either come to the table or give train operators the mandate to break this impasse.

“Make no mistake – unless a negotiated settlement which is acceptable to our members is reached, this dispute will continue for as long as it takes.”

Labour MP Richard Burgon backed the strikers, tweeting: “When ministers are touring the TV studios telling railway workers to accept pay cuts and job losses, remember that the rail companies are making at least £500 million a year in profits.

“Cut profits – increase wages,” the Leeds East MP urged. 

The Department for Transport accused unions of “opting to inflict misery and disrupt the day-to-day lives of millions instead of working with industry to agree a deal that will bring our railways into the 21st century.”

It then paradoxically claimed that strikes are “not the powerful tool they once were [as] people simply work from home,” despite less than 40 per cent of workers doing so in 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics.

RMT members who service London Overground and Underground services are also set to walk out again in a separate dispute today.

The industrial action, over jobs cuts, poor pay and attacks on pensions and working conditions comes amid pressure from Tory ministers for bosses at Transport for London to slash costs after the Covid-19 pandemic saw passenger numbers plummet.

Mr Lynch said the “government-led assault on staff will be disastrous as no other comparable urban transport system operates without financial support from central government.”

Ministers need to “stop trying to get services on the cheap by slashing jobs and wages and invest in what should be a world-class transport network,” he stressed. 

Change is inevitable after the financial impact of the health crisis, management claimed.