Dispute
ends
++
The
white-collar
TSSA
union
has
accepted
a
two-year
pay
deal
from
14
train
operators
in
England,
bringing
the
prospect
of
further
strikes
by
more
than
3,000
of
its
members
to
an
end.
The
offer
is
worth
a
5
per
cent
increase
or
a
minimum
increase
of
£1,750
whichever
is
the
greater
in
year
1,
and
a
further
4
per
cent
increase
in
year
2.
Compulsory
redundancies
are
ruled
out
until
the
end
of
next
year,
but
the
Voluntary
Redundancy
Scheme
will
continue.
Although
the
dispute
is
over,
the
union
said
it
will
continue
to
oppose
ticket
office
closures.
The
Rail
Delivery
Group
said
the
settlement
is
a
‘positive
breakthrough’,
and
the
Department
for
Transport
agreed,
adding
that
the
decision
involved
reforms
which
were
‘vital’
to
get
the
railway
‘back
on
a
financially
sustainable
footing’.
However,
the
TSSA
warned
that
it
would
‘continue
to
hold
the
train
companies
and
the
government
to
account
as
we
go
forward
because
Britain
needs
a
fully
functioning
rail
network
at
the
heart
of
our
green
industrial
future,
and
as
a
means
of
rebuilding
our
economy
in
the
wake
of
the
Covid
pandemic.’
Meanwhile,
four
more
RMT
walkouts
still
set
to
be
staged
on
on
16,
18
and
30
March,
and
1
April.

Metro
vandalism
++
The
first
new
train
for
Tyne
&
Wear
Metro
was
daubed
by
graffiti
vandals
before
it
reached
Tyneside.
The
unit
has
been
built
by
Stadler
in
Switzerland,
and
arrived
in
Britain
via
the
Channel
Tunnel.
Metro
operator
Nexus
said
the
damage
had
been
done
somewhere
in
southern
England,
because
the
defaced
train
was
seen
passing
through
Peterborough
on
its
way
north.
Nexus
said:
‘This
kind
of
pointless
vandalism
is
sadly
part
of
modern
life,’
and
that
the
graffiti
would
be
removed
at
the
new
Gosforth
depot.