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British rail unions and train operators held last-ditch talks on Monday aimed at averting a pre-Christmas strike, deepening a long-running dispute after rejecting a weekend pay offer.
The UK’s biggest rail trade union said the RMT came less than 24 hours after train companies rejected an offer of improved pay in the wake of sweeping reforms that would leave the railway “understaffed”.
The smaller TSSA union, which represents travel and transport workers, rejected a similar offer on Sunday and also held fresh talks with the Rail Delivery Group, which represents train operators.
RMT members launched their industrial action over the rail network in June, but millions of public and private sector workers are now following suit. Nurses, postal workers and university lecturers to go on strike early Christmas; Voting on industrial action by teachers and junior doctors; And ambulance workers are set to announce the dates for the walkout.
While the train companies’ offer appeared to have deepened the dispute, there was some hope that the worst of the strike could be avoided if the unions were able to strike a deal in a separate strike with UK-owned and operated Network Rail. Railway Tracks and Infrastructure.
Union executives were meeting on Monday to discuss the Network Rail offer, and disruption could be reduced next week if unions agree to put their members on a body deal and suspend strike action.
Network Rail has offered pay rises of 5 per cent this year and 4 per cent in 2022 and guaranteed no compulsory job losses until January 2025, but is also demanding significant changes to working methods in return.
The first of four 48-hour strikes at Network Rail and 14 train operating companies is due to start on 13 December. Another two-day strike is on December 16-17, January 3-4 and January 6-7.
Train companies and Network Rail said any deal would need to be struck by the end of Monday to avoid disruption next week as they prepare their timetables and roster crews in advance.
The offers from the RDG to the unions include a 4 percent pay rise each in 2021 and 2022, as well as a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until April 2024.
But both the RMT and TSSA said the offers were linked to unacceptable changes to the railway’s operation, including mass closures of ticket offices and a wider move towards “driver-only operation” – where drivers operate gates rather than guards. Cars
Union executives said the proposed changes to conductor responsibilities were particularly provocative and included at the last moment.
While driver-operated gates are already in place across 45 per cent of the rail network, unions have historically fought hard against the changes, which were at the center of a damaging year-long battle with Southern Rail in 2016 and 2017.
Rail analyst and historian Christian Vollmar said it was a mistake to put “a whole range of conditions” on the pay offer. “Salary and productivity should be kept separate,” he said.
A union executive said RDG negotiators had appeared “shy” on some parts of the deal, which had no chance of being accepted.
Ministers and the rail industry argue that they need to bring in far-reaching changes to working methods to help the economic black hole and shift to remote working caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government spent £13.3bn to support the railways until March 2022, figures released last week showed.
Downing Street said: “We continue to urge the RMT to reconsider. There is still time.
“We think it’s a fair offer. It is a significant improvement over what was offered before”.
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