Update: 09.03.2023

Rail union, RMT, announced yesterday that it is suspending its strike action planned for March and April. The union, representing thousands of workers, has received " a new and improved offer from Network Rail on pay and benefits," said the RMT in a press release.

RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “Network Rail have made a new and improved offer and now our members will decide whether to accept it. “We will continue our campaign for a negotiated settlement on all aspects of the railway dispute.”  

The offer will be put to vote this week, and further details will be communicated once the voting ends on 20 March.

Second Update: 07.03.2023

Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) announced nationwide strike action on the 16,18 and 30 March and 1 April across 14 rail operators.

Along with these workers, members at Network Rail, responsible for the maintenance of tracks and bridges, will join the strike on 16 March and implement weekly overtime bans for most of March and April.

According to Kuehne+Nagel sources, intermodal rail services will be cancelled on Thursday, 16 March, with a reduced timetable operating on the 17 and 18 March. The impact of the strikes on 30 March and 1 April is not yet known.

RMT, representing 40,000 workers, rejected the last pay offer in early February. According to the union, employers have since failed to put a new offer to its members, which has led to further strikes.

"Rail employers are not being given a fresh mandate by the government to offer our members a new deal on pay, conditions and job security, " said RMT general secretary Mick Lynch. "Therefore, our members will now take sustained and targeted industrial action over the next few months," he added.

The union says it seeks an "unconditional offer" which meets pay, job security and working conditions expectations.

First Update: 17.01.2023

Rail union Aslef has announced its members will strike on 1 and 3 February after rejecting a pay offer of 8% over two years. The strikes will once again bring services to a halt for 14 train companies.

‘The proposal is not and could not ever be acceptable but we are willing to engage in further discussions within the process that we previously agreed,’ said Mick Whelan, general secretary of Aslef.

Meanwhile, talks continued this week between the rail companies and the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT).

According to The Guardian, Network Rail’s chief negotiator, Tim Shoveller, told MPs last week that he was confident a deal could soon be reached.

However, the rail union says it is still awaiting a revised offer from Network Rail and the Rail Delivery Group.

RMT had rejected a deal worth 9% over two years, with guarantees on jobs and other benefits, before Christmas, although the smaller numbers of staff in the TSSA and Unite unions accepted.

“The disputes have cost the rail industry an estimated £400m in lost revenue over 21 strike days, with the majority of stoppages by RMT members,” reported The Guardian.

Original article: 03.01.2023

The UK was perhaps the most strike-hit country in Europe last year and it seems 2023 will be no different.

The people of London, and other major cities in the UK, are welcoming the new year with fresh strikes across multiple sectors. Port, rail, health care and civil service workers are launching industrial action this month in protest against poor pay and work conditions.

According to the British newspaper The Guardian, members of several transport companies – including trains and busses – will walk out from 3 to 7 January. Among them are members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT).

After several attempts to reach a deal with employers, the RMT decided to stage two 48-hour strikes on 3 and 6 January. The union, which represents more than 83,000 members from almost every sector of the transport industry, placed part of the blame on the UK government saying “government ministers have abdicated their responsibility to sort out strikes by blocking rail employers from making a deal with RMT.”

In a statement issued on 23 December, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch told the media, “until the government gives the rail industry a mandate to come to a negotiated settlement on job security, pay and condition of work, our industrial campaign will continue into the new year, if necessary."

In addition, many of the 21,000+ members of the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (ASLEF) will join the strikes for 24 hours on 5 January. The union announced last month that 15 train companies voted overwhelmingly for more walk-outs in their long-running dispute over pay.

“A 93% “Yes” vote (…) on an average turnout of 85% shows that our members are in this for the long haul. It shows just how angry – and determined – we are,” said Mick Whelan, general secretary of ASLEF.

Another transport agency that plans to strike is the DVSA (Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency). The DVSA industrial action will take place in the east of England, east Midlands, West Midlands and parts of London from 3 to 10 January.

Commenting on the spread of strikes in the country, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman, Jamie Davies, told reporters, “If you look at rail specifically, it has hindered people’s ability to go to work, to get to school, to go about their daily lives.”

“We want the strikes to end; we don’t want to see the current level of disruption to continue,” he added.