RMT members agree pay deal to end strikes

(Sharecast News) - Member of the RMT rail workers union have accepted a pay deal from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), meaning that agreements have now been reached with three out of the four unions involved in recent industrial disputes. RMT members overwhelming voted in favour of an offer which includes a 5% backdated payrise for the 2022-23 year, along with guarantees over job security.

The deal follows 18 months of disagreements over pay and job security, and means RMT will not be involved in any more strikes until at least the spring of 2024. Talks will continue regarding the 2023-24 year.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "Our members have spoken in huge numbers to accept this unconditional pay offer and no compulsory redundancies until the end of 2024. I want to congratulate them on their steadfastness in this long industrial campaign."

He added that the union would "never shy away from vigorously defending our members terms and conditions, now or in the future".

The ASLEF union, which represents train drivers, are yet to agree terms with the RDG, and will continue with strikes around overtime pay in the first week of December.

In a statement, the RDG said: "Unfortunately, the ASLEF leadership's decision to call further industrial action means passengers still face disruption between 1-9 December, despite an offer remaining on the table which would see basic driver salaries increase from £60k to £65k for a four-day week.

"We want to reach a fair agreement which will get more trains running on time and put the railway on a sustainable footing, at a time when taxpayers are contributing an extra £54m a week to keep services running post covid. Instead of staging more damaging industrial action, we call on ASLEF to work with us to resolve this dispute for the long-term good of everyone who works in rail and the millions of businesses and passengers who rely on it every day."

In a statement on Thursday confirming the next week's strikes, ASLEF's general secretary Mick Whelan said: "We are going on strike again not to inconvenience passengers, but to express our disgust at the intransigence of this government, and the bad faith shown by the private companies which employ us."