[UK] RMT demands minimum 7% pay rise ahead of rail strikes

Ahead of pending rail strikes in the UK, the RMT is seeking a pay rise of at least seven per cent, according to its general secretary, The Telegraph reports.

On June 19, Mick Lynch told Sky News that the RMT was demanding a deal that “reflects” the cost of living and keeps apace with inflation. The union has been guarded about its demands, insisting such negotiations take place behind closed doors.

However, ahead of talks on June 19 with Network Rail, which ended in failure, Mr Lynch gave the first on the record indication of the RMT’s requirements to settle the dispute. 

The first of three days of a national rail strike began today with industrial action also planned on Thursday and Saturday that will bring much of the rail network to a halt.

Network Rail is offering RMT members a two per cent pay rise and a further one per cent later in the year if certain “productivity milestones” are achieved. 

Network Rail has said any great pay increase must be linked to the modernisation of working practices and inevitable job cuts with hundreds of millions of savings that could be passed on to remaining staff.

But with inflation currently at nine per cent and predicted to exceed 11 per cent in the autumn, the rail union is reportedly holding out for a much more generous settlement.

Keeping up with the rising cost of living

The UK Government insists it has spent £16 billion subsidising the rail network during the pandemic and that the taxpayer should not be required to fund pay demands without modernisation plans in place to cut costs.

Speaking on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge programme, Mr Lynch said a deal should have been concluded with Network Rail in December at a time when prices were rising by seven per cent. 

In the intervening six months, inflation has soared further and the unions were seeking to keep up with rising living costs.

Mr Lynch said, “At the time of the Network Rail pay deal, which should have been done in December, it was 7.1 per cent, the Retail Price Index. That’s what the cost of living would have been at the time these deals should have been struck, so we're going to negotiate to see if we can get a deal that reflects that cost of living.”

Mr Lynch also claimed the rail industry was attempting to extend the 35-hour weeks for new workers - resulting in lower pay deals - and that his union wanted assurance that there would be no compulsory redundancies amid future job cuts.

An RMT source said it was “not quite straightforward” that the union was demanding a pay rise that matched inflation and suggested other incentives could come into play. But the RMT remains adamant that it needs assurances on job security before reaching any deal, including modernisation agreements.

“If our members don’t have jobs, the modernisation doesn’t mean anything at all,” the source said.

Modernisation needed

Network Rail has taken the lead on negotiations, with the train operators working in the background, it has said that savings can be made only by reaching an agreement on modernising union working practices. 

That reportedly includes cutting back on track inspections and using automated cameras instead to spot cracks in rails and other safety issues. Network Rail believes hundreds of millions of pounds could be saved that could be passed on to staff in pay rises more generous than the basic two per cent currently on the table.

The RMT lacks the full support of the other rail unions which are also threatening strike action but are seemingly more amenable to negotiations.

One trade union source said, “It suits the RMT to man the barricades and have a bit of class war and talk about a general strike. Like John Lewis, the RMT never knowingly undersells anything. On the other side of the argument, it suits Grant Shapps [the Transport secretary] to claim the unions are all against us. 

“But not all the rail unions are going to walk into the bear trap set by the Government. We are not trying to bring the Government down.”

Source: The Telegraph

(Links and quotes via original reporting)

Ahead of pending rail strikes in the UK, the RMT is seeking a pay rise of at least seven per cent, according to its general secretary, The Telegraph reports.

On June 19, Mick Lynch told Sky News that the RMT was demanding a deal that “reflects” the cost of living and keeps apace with inflation. The union has been guarded about its demands, insisting such negotiations take place behind closed doors.

However, ahead of talks on June 19 with Network Rail, which ended in failure, Mr Lynch gave the first on the record indication of the RMT’s requirements to settle the dispute. 

The first of three days of a national rail strike began today with industrial action also planned on Thursday and Saturday that will bring much of the rail network to a halt.

Network Rail is offering RMT members a two per cent pay rise and a further one per cent later in the year if certain “productivity milestones” are achieved. 

Network Rail has said any great pay increase must be linked to the modernisation of working practices and inevitable job cuts with hundreds of millions of savings that could be passed on to remaining staff.

But with inflation currently at nine per cent and predicted to exceed 11 per cent in the autumn, the rail union is reportedly holding out for a much more generous settlement.

Keeping up with the rising cost of living

The UK Government insists it has spent £16 billion subsidising the rail network during the pandemic and that the taxpayer should not be required to fund pay demands without modernisation plans in place to cut costs.

Speaking on Sky News’s Sophy Ridge programme, Mr Lynch said a deal should have been concluded with Network Rail in December at a time when prices were rising by seven per cent. 

In the intervening six months, inflation has soared further and the unions were seeking to keep up with rising living costs.

Mr Lynch said, “At the time of the Network Rail pay deal, which should have been done in December, it was 7.1 per cent, the Retail Price Index. That’s what the cost of living would have been at the time these deals should have been struck, so we're going to negotiate to see if we can get a deal that reflects that cost of living.”

Mr Lynch also claimed the rail industry was attempting to extend the 35-hour weeks for new workers - resulting in lower pay deals - and that his union wanted assurance that there would be no compulsory redundancies amid future job cuts.

An RMT source said it was “not quite straightforward” that the union was demanding a pay rise that matched inflation and suggested other incentives could come into play. But the RMT remains adamant that it needs assurances on job security before reaching any deal, including modernisation agreements.

“If our members don’t have jobs, the modernisation doesn’t mean anything at all,” the source said.

Modernisation needed

Network Rail has taken the lead on negotiations, with the train operators working in the background, it has said that savings can be made only by reaching an agreement on modernising union working practices. 

That reportedly includes cutting back on track inspections and using automated cameras instead to spot cracks in rails and other safety issues. Network Rail believes hundreds of millions of pounds could be saved that could be passed on to staff in pay rises more generous than the basic two per cent currently on the table.

The RMT lacks the full support of the other rail unions which are also threatening strike action but are seemingly more amenable to negotiations.

One trade union source said, “It suits the RMT to man the barricades and have a bit of class war and talk about a general strike. Like John Lewis, the RMT never knowingly undersells anything. On the other side of the argument, it suits Grant Shapps [the Transport secretary] to claim the unions are all against us. 

“But not all the rail unions are going to walk into the bear trap set by the Government. We are not trying to bring the Government down.”

Source: The Telegraph

(Links and quotes via original reporting)