UK’s RMT Union Suspends ‘All Industrial Action’ Against Network Rail Operator
Piccadilly line trains sit in their depot as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) strike over jobs, pay and pensions in London
InternationalIndiaAfricaOleg BurunovBritain has been shaken by multiple strikes over the past few months, as people have suffered from stagnating wages amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis. The UK’s National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) has called off the March 16 strike against the train operator Network Rail following a new pay offer.Network Rail CEO Andrew Haines was cited by British media as saying that his company is “relieved for our people, passengers and freight customers that industrial action in Network Rail has now been suspended.””We look forward to further information on plans for a referendum,” Haines added.An RMT spokesperson in turn said that the trade union’s National Executive Committee “has taken the decision to suspend all industrial action on Network Rail following receipt of a new offer from the employer.”
According to the spokesman, "further updates will be given on all aspects of the national rail dispute in the coming days."
The UK Department of Transport described the latest development as “positive news”, urging the RMT’s leaders to allow members who work at train companies to vote on the updated offer. Passengers, however, will most likely face a disruption as the RMT strikes slated for later this month and early April will take place against the 14 train operators represented by the Rail Delivery Group.
WorldUK Loses Record Number of Working Days Since Thatcher Era to Strikes in 2022, Reports Say14 February, 10:49 GMTIt remains unclear what the new pay offer is, but workers rejected the previous proposal from Network Rail, which included a 5% pay rise, backdated to January 2022 and a 4% hike for 2023. That offer was slammed by RMT as “dreadful”.The UK has seen a whole array of strikes, including those in the railway sector, over the past several months, which came amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis in the country. The grim economic outlook was caused by a two-year-long COVID-19 pandemic and the West’s sanction campaign against Russia, which resulted in soaring energy prices and high inflation across Europe.
