RMT union SUSPENDS strike action on Network Rail after new offer from bosses
- RMT has suspended Network Rail strikes due to take place in March and April
- Network Rail made new pay offer which union members will hold referendum on
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ union (RMT) has suspended all industrial action on Network Rail after they received a new pay offer.
The next strike action was due to begin at 2am on March 16 and last until 1.59am the next day with a ban on overtime set to follow.
In a statement, the RMT said their executive had taken the decision to suspend all upcoming action and that ‘further updates will be given on all aspects of the national rail dispute in the coming days’.
There is no change to planned strike action to be taken by RMT at 14 train operators represented by the Rail Delivery Group on March 16, 18 and 30 and on April 1. A spokesperson for the union said the new offer from Network Rail will ‘put pressure on RDG to make a new offer’.
Members of RMT will take part on a referendum on whether to accept the latest offer from Network Rail, a spokesperson for the union confirmed.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers’ union (RMT) has suspended all industrial action on Network Rail after they received a new pay offer. Pictured: RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch
Passengers in Paddington station in London, during a strike by train driver members of Aslef and the RMT on February 3
It is not yet known if the executive committee and union boss Mick Lynch will recommend taking the new deal.
The offer presented to the RMT union is also not currently known, but an update will be made at a later date.
RMT members who work for Network rail have jobs in maintenance and signalling.
Members of the RMT have been taking part in walkouts for months in a long-running dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.
Strikes had been thought thought to continue possibly until the Autumn after the biggest rail union rejected ‘final’ pay offers in February.
Last month the RMT said offers of up to nine per cent over two years from Network Rail and the train companies were ‘dreadful’ and did not meet expectations on ‘pay, job security or working conditions’.
In February, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the union will take ‘sustained and targeted industrial action over the next few months’ as employers are ‘not being given a fresh mandate by the Government’ to offer a new deal.
The RMT’s executive was looking to renew its mandate to strike in May, potentially giving it the right to cause chaos for commuters and families until November.
The move could put summer holidays at risk and further hit the British economy.
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