RMT members have backed fresh rail strikes, meaning industrial action could continue until November.

Rail workers employed by 14 train operating companies voted overwhelmingly for further action.

Almost 90% voted in favour on a turnout of 70%. Around 20,000 workers were eligible to take part in the ballot.

It means the union can call further strikes, unless the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and working conditions is resolved.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the vote was a “de-facto referendum on the dispute”, and called on the employers to get back around the table.

“This sends a clear message to the employers that the huge anger amongst rail workers is very real and they need to recognise that fact, face reality and make improved proposals,” Mr Lynch said.

It is the third time in a row that railway workers have voted in favour of strike action since May last year.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents the 14 train operators, said the outcome was disappointing but not surprising.

The RMT’s separate dispute with Network Rail ended in March, when maintenance and signalling staff accepted a deal.

But hopes of a breakthrough in the union’s standoff with the train companies were dashed last Thursday, when the union rejected the Rail Delivery Group’s (RDG) latest proposals and announced a strike on Saturday 13 May – the date of the Eurovision final in Liverpool.

The government, which dictates how much money is available for negotiations, described that offer as “best and final”.

Last week, the train driver’s union Aslef said its members would strike on 12 and 31 May and 3 June, the day of the FA Cup final.

The RDG said on Thursday night the RMT had not given members a “single chance to have their say” on the deal which it said the executive committee had “rejected out of hand in unflattering terms”.

“The RMT membership would be forgiven for wondering why they are only ever offered a vote to extend this dispute and a never vote to end it,” the spokesperson said.

“We can only assume the executive committee is fixed on continuing this dispute for its own reasons, despite the damage to an industry still being subsidised…to our passengers’ lives and to Britain’s reputation for hosting high profile events like Eurovision,” the RDG added.

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