STRIKES GO AHEAD

STRIKES GO AHEAD RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: january 2023 :: RMTnews 10 Strike action by RMT members working on the railways went ahead last month after the Rail Delivery Group and Network Rail were prevented from engaging with the union by the government. Members at Network Rail also voted overwhelmingly to reject the latest offer on an 83 per cent turnout. This led to all strike action at both Network Rail and the 14 train operating companies under the Department of Transport mandate. Rail Delivery Group negotiators, representing the train operating companies, made it clear to union negotiators that Downing Street had withheld the mandate for employers and torpedoed talks. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said that there was no reason why the dispute with the TOCs could not be settled in the same way that the union had resolved disputes in Scotland and Wales. “Where the Scottish and Welsh governments had responsibility for mandates, pay settlements for 2022 have been agreed and neither of these settlements have been conditional on cutting staffing, and eroding safety, security and accessibility. “It is a national scandal that the government has been paying the train operating companies not to settle the dispute, indemnifying them to the tune of £300 million so that they have no incentive to reach a resolution,” he said. The Network Rail offer included a pay rise over a two- year period in return for thousands of job losses, a 50 per cent cut in scheduled maintenance tasks and a 30 per cent increase in unsocial hours it will try to impose with immediate effect. Mick Lynch said that there had been a huge rejection of Network Rail's substandard offer as members were determined to take further strike action in pursuit of a negotiated settlement. "The government is refusing to lift a finger to prevent these strikes and it is clear that they want to make effective strike action illegal in Britain. "We will resist that and our members, along with the entire trade union movement will continue their campaign for a square deal for workers, decent pay increases and good working conditions,” he said. Network Rail and TOC members walk out after employers refuse to make serious offers