Railway staff unions industrial and strike action - 2023

[whole diary]

[PhilWakely]

RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) Press Release

RMT press release 19.01.23.

RMT receives fresh offer from RDG^‡(resolve)
 
Rail union, RMT today received a new offer from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) following negotiations in the national rail dispute.

The union's NEC^» (National Exhibition Centre - about) will now consider the detail within the offer and what next steps to take.

The proposals include detailed documentation covering a range of issues that affect all of our grade groups at these 14 companies and will require serious and careful consideration.

The proposals on pay and job security are directly conditional on cost savings and alterations to contractual terms, entitlements, and working practices.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The National Executive Committee will be considering this matter and has made no decision on the proposals nor any of the elements within them.

"We will give an update on our next steps in due course."

END

The 'new offer' is essentially the original offer with DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard)) dropped [although the individual TOCs^▸ (Train Operating Company) reserve the right to reinstate it] and an additional 1% on this year's pay offer.

[plymothian]

The full proposals by the RDG^‡(resolve) have been published by the RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) on their website.

See the 4 pdfs: RDG General Grades proposals, RDG General Grades, Drivers pay and workforce reform proposal and Drivers letter from RDG.

[a-driver]

If RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) members had any sense they will reject that offer. If it was a straight forward pay rise without the attached conditions it’ll be more than acceptable.

[IndustryInsider]

If RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) members had any sense they will reject that offer. If it was a straight forward pay rise without the attached conditions it’ll be more than acceptable.

The DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) have been making it crystal clear that there will be no straight forward pay rise offered by the TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company)'s.  Any pay rise has to be offset either by increased productivity and/or a reduction in costs.

[TaplowGreen]

If RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) members had any sense they will reject that offer. If it was a straight forward pay rise without the attached conditions it’ll be more than acceptable.

Difficulty is, now that for so many people commuting is an option rather than a necessity, and business travel has fallen through the floor, the RMT don't have much of their traditional leverage left.

The strikes are causing inconvenience, but for most a day or two here and there is manageable.

It could equally validly be said that sensible RMT members will accept that offer, as turning it down, although providing more opportunities to enhance Bruvver Lynch's newly found celebrity status, will merely result in them losing more money as the Government continue to tough this one out.

AIUI^▸ (as I understand it) there will be no "straightforward" pay rise on offer.

[a-driver]

If RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) members had any sense they will reject that offer. If it was a straight forward pay rise without the attached conditions it’ll be more than acceptable.

Difficulty is, now that for so many people commuting is an option rather than a necessity, and business travel has fallen through the floor, the RMT don't have much of their traditional leverage left.

The strikes are causing inconvenience, but for most a day or two here and there is manageable.

It could equally validly be said that sensible RMT members will accept that offer, as turning it down, although providing more opportunities to enhance Bruvver Lynch's newly found celebrity status, will merely result in them losing more money as the Government continue to tough this one out.

AIUI^▸ (as I understand it) there will be no "straightforward" pay rise on offer.

No “straightforward” pay rise will ever be on offer with this government. I highly doubt when MPs^▸ (Member of Parliament) get their payrise there is a host of conditions attached to it!!  The reforms they are proposing will not make the smallest of dents in the running cost of the railway. To save any significant sum of money you need to look at the structure of the railway.

Business and commuting may have fallen off dramatically, but leisure travel is now above pre-Covid levels. That can be as equally as damaging.  Staff are quite prepared to see this through, and quite prepared to step up action

I never thought I’d say this but the only thing that can save this country, not just the railway, is a General Election.

[ChrisB]

Simon Calder's take on the new offer

Bye to the buffet and ancient British Rail agreements? What a rail deal could mean for passengers and staff

The RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) union is still considering the “best and final offer” from the train operators aimed at ending at least one of the long and most bitter national rail disputes that have cost nearly half-a-billion pounds in lost ticket revenue.

But any agreement is contingent on a long list of reforms aimed at cutting the cost of the railway – which could include scrapping the catering on some trains and an end to working conditions agreed more than half a century ago when British Rail was still a thing.

These are the strings attached to the deal.

Remind me of the background?

It’s seven months today since the first national rail strikes since the 1980s began. The tangle of disputes that have led to the stoppages centre on pay, job security and working arrangements.

Finally this week the train operators – represented by industry body the Rail Delivery Group (RDG^‡(resolve)) – made an offer to the RMT union that wasn’t immediately rejected. Pay (a headline rise of 9.2 per cent over two years, with staff on £30,000 or less seeing wages rise by at least 10 per cent) and job security (no compulsory redundancies until 2025 at the earliest) appear settled.

The main hurdle now: the changes in working arrangements, which the employers say are essential to repair the disastrous railway finances. The union’s executive committee is poring over the detail – but if the union accepts the strings attached to the deal, it could signal all kinds of changes for passengers and staff.

Let’s start in the buffet…

…or the trolley that trundles up and down some of the nation’s trains.

The condition is: “All catering services to be reviewed on the basis of affordability and value for the companies.”

At the moment there is no consistency except that most intercity trains have a buffet.

A random selection of other trains have a trolley. You might be offered a cup of tea and a biscuit on a one-hour trip in some parts of the country, while on a journey of nearly three hours between Brighton and Cambridge you’ll have to bring your own.

I predict that catering on shorter commuter services will disappear: demand for food/drink was very low anyway just by the nature of the short journeys, and with commuting collapsing and so many opportunities to buy at stations, sales have dried up.

In future, catering will be offered if there is sufficient demand for a cup of tea and bacon roll for £6 (as on Avanti West Coast) rather than “that’s what we’ve always done”.

Are driver-only operation and ticket office closures still likely?

No. Both thorny issues are parked in the railway sidings for now.

Expanding “driver only operation” – which is the norm for the majority of passengers on Britain’s trains – is no longer a red line for the train operators and the government ministers who are signing off any deal.

While the employers’ side still envisage that ticket offices will close, with staff freed up to help passengers, the deal is not contingent on the union endorsing closures.

The idea will be put out to consultation. Having said that, the deal accepts a newly created “multi-skilled station grade” aimed at providing more all-round help at stations, and station staff would be expected to go and work at nearby stations if there was a need.

Is working Sundays going to become compulsory?
Not for existing staff. One of the most absurd aspects of a rail industry that is firmly anchored to the Victorian era and the random local agreements made since then is that a large slab of trains each week run entirely on overtime and goodwill.

As an example: on state-run Northern Trains, staff who are based on the east side of the Pennines are expected to work on any day of the week, while those on the west side don’t have to work weekends unless they want to earn some overtime.

No airline (apart from El Al, which respects the Jewish Sabbath) would contemplate such an arrangement. It means that Sunday services are more erratic than other days, even when you subtract engineering work.

Successive governments have failed lamentably to tackle the issue – and even this deal pulls its punches.

While Sundays will become a mandatory part of the shift pattern, existing employees will have an opt-out, and those for whom Sunday working is currently overtime-only will continue on that basis. So a fudge, but one that seems to be heading in the general direction of the 21st century.

What do the history books tell us?

A lot about why the railways look costly and inefficient to many. The Red, Blue and Green books that governed the conditions of service in the days when the National Union of Railwaymen was up against British Rail (with a different colour book for different grades of staff) are still largely in force.

They specify, for example, that a member of staff who becomes unable to continue in their role can remain “Stood Off” on full pay for two years if there is no “Suitable Alternative Work” available.

For example, a train manager might argue that an alternative role helping put together training programmes is not “suitable” and therefore they are entitled to stay at home on full pay unless another role is found.

The most extreme example I was told about (and which may be apocryphal, as I have found no record of it) was a condition in the Blue Book that was said to prescribe an additional payment to staff who happened to be working in a building that has a microwave in it.

The aim today is that new technology should not require extra payments to staff.

What are the chances of a rail settlement?

I am optimistic that the RMT and the train operators will settle. The two sides worked through last weekend and intensively during this week. They wanted to get a deal into a shape that the union negotiators felt they could put to their National Executive Committee and, if they agree, to the union members in a vote.

Removing the insistence on driver only operation and ticket office closures will be seen as a win by the RMT.

But this is just one of three big disputes. There’s a parallel one involving the RMT and Network Rail, which the employers’ side say they’re optimistic about.

The conflict between the train operators and Aslef, the train drivers’ union, seems far from a deal. An initial offer of 8 per cent over two years contingent on a wide range of reforms was met with derision by union leaders.

It triggered an immediate strike call – which happens on Wednesday 1 and Friday 3 February, bringing trains to a standstill in large parts of England but with few effects in Wales and Scotland.

[eightonedee]

Good to see someone giving an independent dispassionate and an objective analysis of the position, even if it ultimately says we will be left with a railway that is still inefficient with no overall benefit to passengers

[Timmer]

GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)’s strike information page has been updated with what they plan to operate during the two days of Industrial action taking place next Wednesday and Friday: www.gwr.com/strike

A very limited service will run only on the following routes between:

London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads
Bristol Temple Meads and Cardiff
Reading and Basingstoke
Reading and Oxford
Reading and Redhill
Swindon and Westbury
Exeter St Davids and Exmouth
Exeter St Davids and Paignton
Plymouth and Gunnislake
Penzance and St Ives

That’s more services then during previous action by ASLEF^» (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen - about) when services just operated between London-Bristol, Reading-Basingstoke and Reading-Oxford.

By changing at Bristol, passengers from London can reach Cardiff. With no action taking place on services operated Transport for Wales, the rest of Wales can be reached by a further change of trains at Cardiff.

South Western Railway are also not affected by this latest round of Industrial action.

[ChrisB]

I note that Swindon-Westbury is included too this time!

[Timmer]

I note that Swindon-Westbury is included too this time!

It is yes. Something that will bring at least a partial smile to a certain resident of Melksham.

[grahame]

I note that Swindon-Westbury is included too this time!

It is yes. Something that will bring at least a partial smile to a certain resident of Melksham.

A step in the right direction - two round trips are timetabled, at 07:37 and 16:25 from Westbury, returning at 08:45 and 17:36 from Swindon.

I was initially reminded of the pre 2001, and 2006 to 2013 service of 2 trains each way per day, when real passenger numbers at Melksham were around 3,000 per annum. However, the "Two trains - running too early and too late" joke from those days does not really apply  - 08:45 and 17:36 from Swindon is a darned sight better than the 06:15 and 18:44 schedule from history.   Having just found the details, I am digesting.

Edit to add - on the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) published timetable for a Wednesday, services should leave Westbury at 05:17, 07:05, 07:37, 09:46, 12:17, 14:16, 16:25, 18:34 and 20:06 and Swindon at 06:11, 08:45, 11:05, 13:15, 15:14, 17:36, 18:52 and 20:45. Underlines are those remaining in the online timetable as I write.
 

[old original]

First trains in Cornwall on a strike day

[ChrisB]

Not quite a poll of members though. Will those wishing to accept put their heads over the parapet in a Branch meeting?

From The Standard

Mick Lynch: RMT^▸ (National Union of Rail, Maritime & Transport Workers) members will decide whether to accept offer to end deadlock

‘It’ll be up to our members to decide, and they’ll inform the leadership,’ said RMT general secretary Mick Lynch.

Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union leader Mick Lynch has said its members will decide whether to accept an offer to end the long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

The RMT general secretary claimed the Rail Delivery Group’s (RDG^‡(resolve)) offer is “very challenging”, adding: “I don’t know if our members would be prepared to accept it.”

But he stressed that members would be consulted over the coming days before the union’s leadership makes a decision, GB^▸ (Great Britain) News reported on Saturday.

Members of the RMT and the Aslef train drivers union are set to strike again on Wednesday and Friday.

Wednesday’s walkouts will come on a day of widespread industrial action, with teachers in England and Wales and around 100,000 civil servants among those set to strike.

On Saturday, Mr Lynch told GB News: “We got an offer last week, and train operating companies are now continuing in discussions with Network Rail.

“The offer that they’ve made is very challenging for our people.

“There are branch meetings happening all over the country, regional meetings, and we’ll get reports back from those meetings from negotiating officers about what our members think…

“So that will happen over the next 10 days or so and then we’ll make a decision about what we want to do with the offer.”

Under the offer, staff who are paid below a certain threshold will receive a guaranteed £1,750 in year one, ensuring that lower paid employees benefit most.

Pay would be backdated to the relevant 2022 pay award date with employers, enabling staff to benefit from a lump sum payment in the first available pay run.

But Mr Lynch said pay is not the main issue for members.

He added: “A lot of people find it really challenging to see the closure of every booking office in Britain.

“The clampdown on their terms and conditions is not going down well in the country amongst our members.

“Pay is not the issue that’s burning with our members.

“It’s their conditions and the way that they work.”

The RDG has said many of its proposals “simply extend” best practice already in place in parts of the network, including the creation of a new multi-skilled station role, new “station groups” so that staff are more able to move between stations to help passengers, for example where there are staff shortages, and the use of part-time contracts and flexible working rosters.

Current voluntary working arrangements on Sundays would be formalised, which the RDG said would help to reduce delays and disruption for passengers during weekend travel at a time when Sunday travel demand has increased significantly post-Covid.

A voluntary redundancy scheme will be made available for those who wish to leave the industry.

The contentious issue of expanding driver-only operation is not included in the new offer.

Mr Lynch said: “We’re just giving it a thorough discussion, because it took six months to get this offer.

“I’m not optimistic until our members tell me to be optimistic.

“What we’ve got is a really poor offer, the pay offer is less than half of the rate of inflation over these two years.

“I’m quite suspicious about what’s going on and I don’t know if our members would be prepared to accept it.

“It’ll be up to our members to decide, and they’ll inform the leadership.”

A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “This dispute has gone on for far too long and we encourage the RMT to put this new offer to its members.

“This fair and reasonable offer guarantees employees a pay rise in line with the private sector and no compulsory redundancies, while delivering the reforms needed to address the long-term challenges facing the industry.”

The RDG has been approached for comment.

[BBM]

James Davis from GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) was on BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) Radio Berkshire this morning, he said that this time the strike action would affect local branch lines in the Thames Valley including Gunnislake to West Ealing