Off The Rails's blog

Aslef has called further strikes on TOCs on 1 September, with a further OT ban starting the following day. RMT has already got strikes planned for 26 August and 2 September.

There's no sign of a new offer from the RDG, nor any movement from the government. How can we break the deadlock?

Off the...

RMT has called new strikes in the TOCs dispute, on 26 August and 2 September.

The message to members announcing the strikes rightly pays tribute to members' resolve and determination. It's a huge testament that, over a year into the dispute, and with the employer not budging, we've maintained that...

The latest edition of Off the Rails in its printed form as a bulletin/zine is now online.

Click here to download the PDF.

Aslef's latest press release, announcing the OT/RDW bans from 31 July to 5 August, contains a disturbing line from general secretary Mick Whelan.

Among other things, he says "...we want a resolution. A fair resolution. That’s why we are taking this action, to try to bring things to a head. Then I...

One striking (no pun intended) thing about the OT and RDW bans Aslef has recently announced is that none of them include Sundays.

On the one hand, this is hugely weakens this type of action. Taking Northern as an example, drivers on ex-Arriva Trains Northern terms and conditions (known as the "East...

Aslef has announced a week of overtime and rest-day-working (RDW) bans across 15 TOCs, from 31 July to 5 August, as part of the ongoing national dispute over pay and conditions.

While it's good that the union has called some action, this is simply not sufficient to win the dispute. It's a step back...

A rumour flew around mess rooms this past couple of weeks that the Executive Committees of RMT and Aslef were meeting to discuss co-ordination of strike action. Off the Rails is yet to hear confirmation that such a meeting indeed took place - but even if it did, there remains absolutely no...

Outsourced security staff on Eurostar, employed by the contractor Mitie, are balloting for strikes to win the reinstatement of an unfairly sacked colleague. The ballot runs from 11 July to 1 August.

A separate dispute over pay is also in the offing, as workers have rejected the employer's latest...

RMT members on Eurostar have secured a pay settlement which will see pay increase by between 8 and 17% for directly-employed staff. The reason for the differential is that the settlement includes a flat-rate minimum of £4,300 for all workers paid below £45,000/year, meaning lower-paid workers will...

Whilst none of us have a crystal ball, it's fairly safe to assume that the RDG isn't going to crumble after our strikes later this month. So we need to plan further action, and discuss it now. Simply easing off after the next strikes and adopting a "wait and see" attitude hasn't worked so far in the...

Catering supply staff working for DHL on the Avanti West Coast contract struck over pay from 5-6 July. An RMT statement said: "They have not been offered a pay rise despite the cost-of-living crisis and rising inflation. DHL has pleaded poverty claiming they cannot afford a rise despite the fact its...

RMT has called demonstrations at train stations around the country in response to the recently announced consultation on ticket offices, a likely prelude to mass closures and job cuts. Details of the protests, which will take place between 11 and 21 July, can be found on the RMT website here.

These...

A public consultation is due to begin on the closure of nearly 1,000 ticket offices across the rail network. Closing offices, something employers have already achieved on London Underground, has been a central aim of cost-cutting industry "modernisers" for many years. Closures would lead not only to...

RMT has called new strikes in the TOCs dispute, on 20, 22, and 29 July.

It's good there's a return to action after a pause of nearly a month. And three strikes in a nine-day period is an intensification relative to the previous pattern of striking for 24 or 48 hours, with weeks, or sometimes months...

Following the departure of disgraced former general secretary Manuel Cortes, and the shocking exposure of an endemic culture of sexist harassment and bullying, TSSA is due to elect a new general secretary.

But you don't have to be a TSSA member to stand. You don't even have to be a railway worker...

Reading previous RMT comms, it wasn’t hard to guess that the leadership would be coming to the TOC reps meeting on 14 June with a position of moving now to TOC-by-TOC negotiations (TBTN). Less predictable this time was the reps’ response.
 

In January reps from 13 of the 14 TOCs in dispute were...

This article presents a critical interpretation of a motion from Plymouth RMT concerning the national TOC dispute; if any of it is wrong we invite the movers to reply.

It is interesting that of all the motions passed in branches concerning the way forward for our dispute the only one that the...

RMT’s decision to call a strike on TOCs on 2 June means there’ll be three days of impact, as Aslef are striking on 31 May and 3 June. Maximising the impact of action is good, although we remain unconvinced that the downsides of striking separately - the entrenching of sectional, grades-based...

Off The Rails & Tubeworker public (Zoom) meeting

🗓 Thursday 15 June, 15:00-17:00

Log in at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89802934171?pwd=NEh5MzJzTWp0eWptSE9WaDA1NlhOdz09

LGBT+ people continue to face oppression and discrimination, in the workplace and beyond, particularly with attacks on trans...

Hopefully just a simple error of omission but the email announcing our next strike action on Friday 2nd June contains the worrying suggestion that if the RDG won’t guarantee “… constructive fresh proposals …” in any future talks, then the only option will be to move to talks on a TOC-by-TOC basis...

An update to Aslef members from general secretary Mick Whelan describes the latest offer from the RDG as "risible", and says it "bore little relation" to what Aslef had been expecting following prolonged talks.

Whelan also says: "As you are aware, we had not taken any action while those talks...

It was good to be back on the picket lines on 12-13 May, as both Aslef and RMT returned to industrial action in the national dispute with the Rail Delivery Group over pay, jobs, and conditions on Train Operating Companies.

We need to ensure that is swiftly followed up with further, escalated action...

Mick Lynch was pressed in a TalkTV interview about whether striking over Eurovision weekend somehow undermined the UK's support for Ukraine, as broadcasters pick up on, and uncritically recycle, a Tory attack line first used by rail minister Mark Harper.

Lynch said: “We regard the invasion of...

TSSA members working as Traffic Managers, Service and Infrastructure Managers, and Incident Response Managers on the Elizabeth line will strike on 24 May, and launch an overtime ban from 27 May-4 June.

They're fighting for a decent pay increase, as workers who perform similar roles elsewhere on...

Tubeworker & Off The Rails public (Zoom) meeting

🗓 Thursday 18 May, 15:00-17:00

Log in at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89802934171?pwd=NEh5MzJzTWp0eWptSE9WaDA1NlhOdz09

Hundreds of millions of pounds of public money were spent on the recent coronation, to perpetuate an institution based on...

Rail workers have smashed the arbitrary thresholds of the Tory anti-union laws yet again, with an average turnout of 70% across all companies in the RMT re-ballot, with an overall majority of 91% for continuing industrial action.

The recent spluttering by the Rail Delivery Group (umbrella body for...

The new edition of the bulletin format of Off The Rails, which collates content from our blog, is now online. This edition advocates stepping up the strikes in the TOCs dispute.

Download it here.

Why not print off a few copies for distribution in your workplace?

RMT has announced another strike on TOCs on 13 May.

The union statement announcing the strike says the reason for it is that the Rail Delivery Group has reneged on its offer by insisting that the Year One 5% pay increase will only be delivered if RMT settles its dispute and cancels the new...

Aslef drivers at 15 Train Operating Companies will strike on 12 May, 31 May, and 3 June, in the ongoing national dispute over pay and conditions. Here, an Aslef driver shares their view...

So, we are the bad guys again?

After months of talks and "no formal offer", the parasites like Steve "£300...

RMT’s Traincrew and Shunting grades conference was held last week and our current dispute was the main topic of discussion.

A delegate calling for action on Saturdays got an ovation and there was no push back against escalation. One amongst many raising the same issue, an Avanti worker got a huge...