RMT pickets, Wolverhampton, May 2023. Photo Workers.
Rail workers in most train operating companies – members of RMT, TSSA and Unite – have voted to accept the national pay deal that brings to an end a period of intermittent strikes and other industrial action over more than two years.
The agreement gives a 4.75 per cent increase for 2023, and a 4.5 per cent increase for 2024. This follows the acceptance of a similar national offer to most train drivers to settle their separate dispute.
And in both cases, the new Labour government dropped its predecessor’s insistence that pay increases must be coupled to bringing in highly unpalatable changes to terms and conditions. Those proposed conditions had met with determined opposition from all the unions, which was not going to be dropped after the election.
Despite the strikes and the disruption arising from the long-running disputes, passenger numbers have continued to climb after the end of the pandemic. The return of more stable industrial relations in the railway industry is likely to see even more passengers.
Growth in passenger numbers highlights the need for much more investment in capacity, as well as in quality and reliability.
• A longer version of this article is on the web at www.cpbml.org.uk