Rail strike off again as pay offer is doubled

RAIL chiefs averted the first national strike for 12 years for a second time – by doubling their pay offer to workers.

Militant union bosses had threatened to bring the UK to a standstill for five days after rejecting two previous offers, but have now suspended the strikes.

Taxpayer-backed Network Rail has proposed a 2 per cent pay rise this year and a further rise in line with inflation – forecast to be around 1.5 per cent – next year in a desperate bid to end the threat of a walkout.

This is up from their previous offer of a 1 per cent rise this year and 1.4 per cent next year after rail workers – some of whom earn up to £111,000 a year – threatened to cause travel chaos by striking on Bank Holiday Monday.

The Rail Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) have said the 2 per cent rise is good enough to suspend its latest strike action, and must now decide whether to accept it.

Union chiefs have been accused of holding ‘ the travelling public to ransom’ and trying to cause ‘maximum disruption’.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said Network Rail staff had received pay rises eight times higher than other public sector workers in the past four years, and that strike action was ‘unreasonable’.

The pay deal is the third made by Network Rail and follows four days of intensive talks with union representatives and the conciliation service Acas. It originally offered a £ 500 pay rise this year followed by three years of increases in line with inflation.

After refusing the second offer, the RMT increased its threat from a one-day strike to three days of strikes on June 4, 9 and 10 – which would also affect June 5 and 11.

It is hoped the offer, and an assurance of no compulsory redundancies before the end of 2016, will see the plans dropped.

Yesterday RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: ‘ RMT has now received a revised offer that enables us to suspend the planned industrial action while we consult in full on the details of the revised package with our Network Rail representatives.’

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association union also said it would consider the offer at a meeting on Thursday.

Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne said yesterday: ‘We have had very constructive talks with the unions over the weekend and I hope they will be able to agree this deal.’

‘Unions holding public to ransom’