OREANDA-NEWS. Network Rail responds to RMT strike announcement. Mark Carne, Network Rail chief executive, said: “This strike is deliberately timed to cause maximum disruption to families trying to enjoy the half-term break and millions more returning to work after the bank holiday. I find it deplorable that the RMT can hold the travelling public to ransom in this way".

“This week we have been talking to ACAS to try to get the RMT back around the table. The public knows only too well that our railway must improve. We want to work with the unions so that we can reward our staff through improved productivity.”

On the issue of Network Rail’s ‘profits’, Mark Carne continued: “The RMT say we can afford more than what’s on offer. What they don’t say is that Network Rail is a public service body and that all profits are reinvested in building a bigger, better, more reliable railway. Any pay increase comes from the pockets of taxpayers and fare paying passengers.”

Details of RMT industrial action:
  • Action short of strike by not working any overtime or additional hours or any extended shifts and by not undertaking any call-outs for 48 hours between 00.01am on Monday 25 May and 11.59pm on Tuesday 26 May.
  • 24 hours of strike action by not booking on for duty on any shift from 5pm on Monday 25 May until 4.59pm on 26 May.

Who is covered by the current pay dispute?

This dispute affects around 25,000 of our people across maintenance, operations, administrative and corporate functions, as well as controllers.

What has Network Rail offered?

All 25,000 people have been offered:

  • A lump sum payment in 2015 of £500;
  • Pay increases matching RPI in 2016, 2017 and 2018;
  • A guarantee that if RPI falls below zero, their pay will not fall;
  • A guarantee that none of 19,500 people (all grades except Bands 5-8) will be made redundant against their wishes in 2015 or 2016; and
  • A commitment to long-term job security through retraining and redeployment from 2017 onwards for any of those people who want to stay at Network Rail.
About Network Rail

Network Rail owns, manages and develops Britain’s railway – the 20,000 miles of track, 40,000 bridges and viaducts, and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations (the largest of which we also run). In partnership with train operators we help people take more than 1.6bn journeys by rail every year - double the number of 1996 - and move hundreds of millions of tonnes of freight, saving almost 8m lorry journeys. We’re investing £38bn in the railway by 2019 to deliver more frequent, more reliable, safer services and brighter and better stations.