Negotiations
over
pay

are
set
to
restart
with
the
RMT,
following
ASLEF’s
provisional
acceptance
of
the
government’s
pay
offer
to
drivers,
which
will now
be
put
to
ASLEF
members
with
a
recommendation
to
accept.

Transport
secretary
Louise
Haigh
said
the
new
deal
for
drivers
will
be
‘better
value’
for
taxpayers
than
allowing
strikes
to
continue.

Starting
in
July
2022,
drivers
walked
out
at
all
English
operators
on
14
occasions,
and
a
further
four
‘staggered’
strikes
affected
different 
operators.
There
were
also
12
bans
on
rest
day
working,
most
of
which
lasted
several
days.

The
offer
to
drivers,
part
of
which
is
backdated,
consists
of
5
percent
for
2022-23;
4.75
per
cent
for
2023-24
and
4.5
per
cent
for
2024-25.

The
RMT
is
now
looking
for
similar
increases
for
its
40,000
rail
industry
members.

Ahead
of
next
week’s
discussions
with
government,
RMT
general
secretary
Mick
Lynch
said:
‘All
things
being
equal,
we
are
expecting
a
parallel,
synchronised
offer.

‘We
are
meeting
the
Department
on
Tuesday
on
behalf
of
our
members
who
work
for
train
operating
companies,
and
on
Thursday
for
staff
who
work
for
Network
Rail.’

Shadow
transport
minister
Helen
Whately
accused
the
government
of
giving
the
unions
priority.

She
said:
‘Pensioners
are
being
deprived
of
the
winter
fuel
allowance,
taxpayers
are
facing
tax
hikes
and
passengers
are
facing
higher
fares,
all
as
the
result
of
this
government’s
choice
to
put
the
unions
first.’

She
added
that
it
was
‘deeply
disappointing
that
this
government
has
chosen
not
to
include
working
practice
reforms
in
their
deal’.

The
amount
of
any
rail
fares
rise
in
2025
is
not
yet
known,
but
July’s
RPI,
announced
two
days
ago,
was
3.6
per
cent.
The
figure
for
July
each
year
is
usually
the
basis
for
changes
to
rail
fares
the
following
year.
Until
recently,
fares
had
risen
each
January,
but
the
annual
changes
have
been
postponed
until
March
since
2021.