Railways minister, Huw Merriman, let the cat out of the bag when being questioned by Parliament’s Transport Select Committee, by conceding that the rail strikes had cost the UK more than settling the disputes months ago would have.
His reason for not reaching an agreement was that if the government had settled with rail workers, it would have set a precedent for other public sector unions. ‘We have to look at what teachers are being given, and what nurses are being given as well,’ he said.
It was an admission that ‘prolonging the rail dispute was part of a deliberate strategy that was dictated by the government’s concern to keep down the pay of rail workers, nurses, ambulance workers and teachers’ (bbc.in/3D1rJtl).