RMT given ‘final offer’ by train operators to call off rail strikes
Train operating companies have made a ‘best and final offer’ to the RMT union in a bid to end strikes.
The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) said it included a minimum pay rise of nine per cent over two years and no compulsory redundancies until at least the end of December 2024.
Voluntary working arrangements on Sundays would be formalised under the offer, which does not mention the contentious issue of expanding driver-only trains.
The RDG said it ‘would allow the industry to adapt to significant changes in the ways in which passengers use the railway, while offering rewarding and varied careers for staff’.
Pay would be backdated to the relevant 2022 pay award date with employers, enabling staff to benefit from a lump sum payment.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the union’s executive will consider the offer and decide its next steps ‘in due course’.
Meanwhile, thousands of nurses across England continued to strike yesterday in a row over pay while 1,000 ambulance workers in Wales also walked out. Futher action is planned next month.
It came after former Cabinet minister Simon Clarke was branded ‘heartless and out of touch’ for suggesting nurses who use food banks are careless with budgeting.
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