National dispute 2022-3

Following RMT general secretary Mick Lynch's retirement announcement (on which more on this blog soon), there was a fair bit of chat in mess rooms, and a flurry of posts in union WhatsApp groups, recounting some of his greatest hits from the period in 2022-3 when he became a media celebrity.

It's good to see the union publish some research into the impacts of Network Rail's "Modernising Maintenance" restructure. The scheme is basically a bonfire of jobs, significantly reducing staffing levels and maintenance schedules.

Pay settlements have now been accepted by RMT members on Network Rail and the Train Operating Companies (TOCs), both by large majorities.

Last week, Aslef announced to its members the proposed settlement of its two year long dispute with Train Operating Companies (and with the Rail Delivery Group, and the Department for Transport, and the Tory government). The offer made spans three years – the two years that the dispute concerns (2022/3 and 2023/4) and the current pay year, 2024/5. The offer is 5% for year one, 4.75% for year two and 4.5% for year three.

RMT has informed members that a new offer from the Department for Transport is imminent.

We'll be publishing our thoughts on the new offer made to Aslef, for drivers on mainline Train Operating Companies (TOCs) soon. Inevitably, there's been a lot of discussion of the offer amongst RMT members on TOCs as well. Given it represents an improvement on what was on the table previously, there...

Both RMT and ASLEF appear to have decided to "wait and see" what an incoming Labour government will do with the railway disputes rather than keep the initiative and keep up with industrial action during the election period and keep it a live issue.

The conference, on 20-24 May, of the train drivers' union Aslef voted to back the Palestinian-Jewish social and anti-war movement Standing Together.

Aslef members received a text and email from the union this afternoon informing them that the my had "...received an approach from the RDG to discuss a framework for reopening talks".

A new video from RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch updates members on talks going on across Train Operating Companies (TOCs) on pay and conditions for 2024-5.