The
RMT▸ 's press release today:
The largest rail union, RMT, today confirmed that members will be taking 24 hours of strike action from 5pm Thursday 4th June through to 4.59pm on Friday 5th June in the current dispute over pay and jobs at Network Rail with a further 48 hours of action from 5pm On Tuesday 9th June to 4.59pm on Thursday 11th June. In addition there will be action short of a strike from 00.01 Saturday 6th June to 23.59 on Friday 12th June.
The RMT executive decision is:
We note that a meeting with our Area Council Representatives has been held and as part of a rolling campaign we instruct our members to take Industrial action as follows:
^ Not to book on for any shifts that start between 17:00 Thursday 4th June 2015 until 16:59 Friday 5th June 2015
^ Not to book on for any shifts that start between 17:00 Tuesday 9th June 2015 until 16:59 Thursday 11th June 2015.
Additionally,
To take action short of strike by not working any overtime or additional hours or any extended shifts and by not undertaking any call-outs duties from 0001 hours on Saturday 06 June 2015 and 2359 hours on Friday 12th June 2015
NR» members voted in a ballot by 80% for strike action on a 60% turn out and by 92% for action short of strike action.
RMT has rejected the latest NR pay proposals as falling well short of what is required to maintain the living standards and the working conditions for nearly 16,000 staff across NR operations and maintenance. RMT is in no doubt that a decent pay settlement for NR staff is entirely affordable.
The union has pointed out that:
^ Network Rail can clearly afford to make a pay offer that maintains the standards of living of its workforce
^ The company generated ^1 billion of profits in the most recent financial year due to the effort and commitment of its staff
^ Network Rail has is paying out ^60 million in bonuses with top managers able to hit a bonus level up to 50% of their actual income.
^ It has been estimated that each one day of strike action will result in compensation payments of ^30 million to the private train companies
^ Each additional 1% on the pay offer means an additional ^7.5 million in real costs to the company ^ meaning that the dispute could be settled for a fraction of the nearly ^100 million soaked up in bonuses and compensation.
^ The union has been negotiating on the current pay round since last October ^ with the award being delayed from the anniversary date of the 1st January the current offer of 1% for 2105 is paltry in comparison to the real rate of inflation of 2.1% when negotiations opened towards the end of last year.
RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said:
^Our representatives have today rejected the pay package offered by Network Rail and in the absence of any further movement from the company that has left us with no option but to move to a rolling programme of industrial action which will begin next Thursday.
"We have a massive mandate for action which shows the anger of safety-critical staff across the rail network at attacks on their standards of living and the blunt truth is that this dispute could be settled for a fraction of the money being handed out in senior manager bonuses and to the train operators for not running services. That is a ludicrous situation which should never have been allowed to have arisen.
^With no shortage of cash in the bonus pot and to compensate the private train companies it is no wonder that our members take the view that 1% is wholly inadequate and fails to recognise the massive pressures staff are working under to keep services running safely at a time when the company is generating profits of ^1 billion. It is our members battling to keep Britain moving around the clock, often in appalling conditions, and they deserve a fair share from Network Rail for their incredible efforts.
^Our rail staff deserve a fair reward for the high-pressure, safety-critical work that they undertake day and night and the last thing that we need is a demoralised, burnt-out workforce living in fear for their livelihoods and their futures and the message has come back loud and clear that that is exactly how they feel about the current offer from Network Rail.
^RMT remains available for talks and we hope that the company will appreciate the anger amongst staff at the current offer on pay and conditions from Network Rail and that they will agree to our call to come back to the table with an improved package. We expect rock solid support for this action and will be taking a new campaign to the public under the banner "OUR JOBS - YOUR SAFETY" as we build support for the fight to stop this attack on a workforce whose core role is to deliver a safe railway to the British people."
Network Rail's response:
Rail dispute continues as union leadership fails to carry agreed offer
Thursday 28 May 2015
National
Once again the RMT leadership have failed to get their members to accept a pay offer from Network Rail that they had agreed to in discussions with ACAS.
Mark Carne, Chief Executive said:
^Our people know that there are ways to improve the way work is done. I have always said that if we work together to realise these benefits there is the possibility to increase pay. We are therefore ready to get around the table with whoever the RMT consider can speak on behalf of their members. It is clearly unacceptable for the RMT to massively disrupt the travelling public with strike action when we are ready to continue talks.^
Network Rail will now restart its contingency planning with the train operators, but if a national rail strike goes ahead, rail services will be severely affected.
NOTES TO EDITORS
The terms of the latest rejected offer were;
1. Network Rail will pay all staff in the bargaining groups a 1% consolidated increase on their base salary backdated to 1 January 2015 (with a guaranteed minimum increase of ^250 consolidated per annum- pro-rata for part-time staff);
2. Network Rail will pay all staff in the bargaining groups a 1.4% consolidated increase, on 1 January 2016;
3. Separately, the unions and Network Rail have committed to continue working with ACAS to discuss and agree smarter, better ways of working. If these are agreed, Network Rail has committed to paying up to 0.7% consolidated on basic salary from 1 January 2016;
4. Network Rail will guarantee that there will be no compulsory redundancies across all members of bargaining groups until 31 December 2016; and
5. Network Rail will enter in to discussion with the unions to agree a comprehensive job security package for the future.
NB. Bargaining groups are - operations and customer services in bands 5-8 and equivalent, maintenance bands 5-8 and equivalent and controller grades this includes all signalling and supervisory grades, ECRO^s (1-8), Controllers (1-4), all maintenance grade staff, all operational grades
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