Rail strikes could come to an end after workers were offered a pay rise. The rail delivery group has offered RMT union workers an eight per cent rise over two years.
The deal includes a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until April 2024. The Rail Delivery Group has called on RMT to put the offer to its members.
A spokesperson from the Rail Delivery Group, said: “This is a fair and affordable offer in challenging times, providing a significant uplift in salary for staff. If approved by the RMT, implementation could be fast-tracked to ensure staff go into Christmas secure in the knowledge that they will receive this enhanced pay award early in the New Year alongside a guarantee of job security until April 2024.
“With revenue stuck at 20 per cent below pre-pandemic levels and many working practices unchanged in decades, taxpayers who have contributed £1,800 per household to keep the railway running in recent years, will balk at continuing to pump billions of pounds a year into an industry that desperately needs to move forward with long-overdue reforms and that alienates potential customers with sustained industrial action.
"We urge the RMT leadership to put this offer to its membership and remove the threat of a month of industrial action over Christmas that will upset the travel plans of millions and cause real hardship for businesses which depend on Christmas custom. Instead, we urge the RMT to move forward together with us and so we can give our people a pay rise and deliver an improved railway with a sustainable, long-term future for those who work on it.”
The deal promises to carry out "long overdue changes to working arrangements" that are "necessary to secure the future of the industry". The deal was put forward after several weeks of intensive negotiations.
If accepted by members it would put an end to the planned industrial action set to start on December 13. Due to its close proximity to Christmas, the strikes would cause a month of disruptions on the network, according to The Rail Delivery Group.
RMT has been contacted for comment.
