Mick Lynch, general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), speaks to the media outside the Department for Transport (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)
(Picture: PA Wire)The RMT rail union has been offered a new pay offer in a bid to head off planned strikes that could wreak havoc over Christmas.
The Rail Delivery Group said it has offered the RMT a pay rise of eight per cent over two years with a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies to April 2024 in a bid to head off fresh strikes.
A statement said a draft framework agreement gives the RMT the chance to call off its planned industrial action and put the offer to its membership.
The strikes, on December 13-14 and 16-17, coupled with an overtime ban over Christmas, would result in a month of disruption on the network, said the RDG.
Employers tabled the draft framework agreement after several weeks of intensive talks.
A spokesperson from the RDG said: “This is a fair and affordable offer in challenging times, providing a significant uplift in salary for staff.”
It came as hundreds of troops are being trained to drive ambulances and firefight in the event of strike action, the Government has said.
About 2,000 military personnel, civil servants and other volunteers from across government have been preparing as ministers brace for a wave of industrial action across the public sector.
The Cabinet Office said they included up to 600 armed forces personnel and 700 staff from the Government’s specialist Surge and Rapid Response Team, as well as other parts of the Civil Service.
As well as covering for fire and ambulance crews, they could also be drafted in to ports and airports in the event of strike action by Border Force staff.
Conservative Party chairman Nadim Zahawi said ministers were determined to minimise disruption from industrial action in the weeks ahead.
“It is the right and responsible thing to do to have contingency plans in place,” he told Sky News’s Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme.
“We have a very strong team at Cobra (civil contingencies committee) who are doing a lot of the work in looking at what we need to do to minimise the disruption to people’s lives.”
