TORY ministers must intervene in negotiations to end the “deadlocked rail dispute or get out of the way,” transport unions demanded today.

RMT and Aslef slammed the “hairy, unhelpful and incendiary” comments made by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps following three days of national rail strikes last month.

In contrast, unions and employers had been “measured” in their negotiations over pay, working conditions and potential job cuts, RMT assistant general secretary Eddie Dempsey told the transport select committee.

The union later confirmed a further day of strikes for July 27 in response to Network Rail’s “paltry” 4 per cent pay offer, which falls well short of soaring inflation. 

General secretary Mick Lynch said the dispute will continue “as long as it takes.”

The government, which has branded the walkouts “callous and unnecessary,” is deliberately “picking a fight” with unions, Mr Dempsey told MPs.

Asked whether Mr Shapps should allow the Department for Transport (DfT) to get involved in talks, he stressed that it “ought to be at the table,” or it needs to “get out of the way and allow us to bargain freely.”

During negotiations, bosses often step outside to consult ministers, he said, warning: “We are in a room with people who cannot make a decision.”

Mick Whelan, head of Aslef, which represents train drivers who voted for industrial action across eight train-operating companies earlier this week, said employers were telling unions that Downing Street was blocking them from offering higher wage boosts.

“We are in a catch-22 situation,” he told the committee.

A DfT spokesman said: “It is a matter for unions and employers — not government — to engage in meaningful talks on modernisation practices to avoid damaging strike action and prevent chaos on the railways.”