The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) says it has offered members of the RMT union a pay rise of 8 per cent over two years with a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until April 2024, in a bid to head off fresh strikes.
It is the first time since the long and bitter dispute began that the train operators – represented by the RDG – have tabled a formal offer to the main rail union.
The offer is designed to allow the RMT to present a figure of 8 per cent, while the government can insist that, on an annual basis, the pay rise amounts to only 4 per cent.
The deal is merely a “framework agreement”, and detailed negotiations are still needed between the RMT union and each of the 14 train operators with whom it is currently in dispute.
But the sticking point is likely to be what the RDG calls “vital and long overdue changes to working arrangements necessary to secure the future of the industry”. They include changes that the RMT has long been opposed to, including the closure of station ticket offices and the operating of train doors by drivers, known as DOO.
The rail writer Philip Haig said: “I reckon even talk of DOO will sink this offer long before RMT allows its members a vote.”
The Independent has asked the union for a response.
The next round of national strikes is scheduled for 13-14 and 16-17 December, followed by a further round on 3-4 and 6-7 January. In addition, the RMT union will ban overtime between 18 December and 2 January.
Unless some sort of deal can be found by Tuesday 6 December, cancellations of trains will begin.
If the stoppage goes ahead it will constitute the biggest sustained industrial action on the railways since 1989. So far this year, the RMT has called 11 days of national strikes. In October, three days of walkouts were called off at short notice, but widespread disruption was still felt over the course of a week.
In addition, white-collar staff working for several train operators and Network Rail are planning to hold industrial action, while Eurostar security staff have announced a pre-Christmas walkout.
Train drivers working for around a dozen rail firms – including intercity giants Avanti West Coast, GWR and LNER – have so far staged five days of national action.
Regionally, a range of industrial action from overtime bans to local walkouts is causing further disruption, while Eurostar could be…
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