Wednesday, November 23, 2022


RMT Announced four weeks of industrial action

“Our message to the public is we are sorry to inconvenience you, but we urge you to direct your anger and frustration at the government and railway
employers during this latest phase of action.”


By the RMT

Rail union, RMT will put on a series of 48 hour strikes in December and January after industry bosses failed to offer any new deals to reach a settlement.

Over 40,000 members across Network and 14 Train Operating Companies will take strike action on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December and on January 3,4,6 and 7. There will also be an overtime ban across the railways from 18 December until 2 January, meaning RMT be taking industrial action for 4 weeks.

Despite every effort made by our negotiators, it is clear that that the government is directly interfering with our attempts to reach a settlement. The union suspended previous strike action in good faith to allow for intensive negotiations to resolve the dispute.

Yet, Network Rail have failed to make an improved offer on jobs, pay and conditions for our members during the last two weeks of talks.

At the same time Rail Delivery Group, representing the train operating companies, have also broken a promise to make a meaningful offer on pay and conditions and even cancelled negotiations that were due to take place yesterday.

We also have evidence from all 14 of the train companies denying that Rail Delivery Group has the authority to conduct negotiations on their behalf, even as the RDG urged us to come back to the table.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “This latest round of strikes will show how important our members are to the running of this country and will send a clear message that we want a good deal on job security, pay and conditions for our people.

“We have been reasonable, but it is impossible to find a negotiated settlement when the dead hand of government is presiding over these talks.

“The employers are in disarray and saying different things to different people sometimes at the same time. This whole process has become a farce that only the new Secretary of State can resolve. When I meet him later this week, I will deliver that message.

“In the meantime, our message to the public is we are sorry to inconvenience you, but we urge you to direct your anger and frustration at the government and railway employers during this latest phase of action.

“We call upon all trades unionists in Britain to take a stand and fight for better pay and conditions in their respective industries. And we will seek to coordinate strike action and demonstrations where we can.

“Working people across our class need a pay rise and we are determined to win that for our members in RMT.”This article was originally published by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) on November 22nd.

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Posties reject Royal Mail’s ‘final and best offer’ as Black Friday strikes go ahead

BY:LEAH MONTEBELLO
WEDNESDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2022
(Credit: @CWUnews)

Postal workers have rejected Royal Mail’s “final and best” offer, calling the current situation an “Armageddon moment” for the company.

Over 115,000 Communication Workers Union (CWU) workers will now strike on Thursday 24 November and Black Friday 25 November.

After seven months of talks between Royal Mail and the CWU – including Acas talks over the last four weeks – the company has tabled its best and final offer, which includes an enhanced pay deal of up to nine per cent over 18 months.

“Negotiations involve give and take, but it appears that the CWU’s approach is to just take. We want to reach a deal, but time is running out for the CWU to change their position and avoid further damaging strike action tomorrow,” Royal Mail CEO Simon Thompson said in a statement this morning.

Strike action has already added £100m to Royal Mail’s losses so far this year, with more set to come during the busy Christmas period.

Meanwhile, the CWU said it is disappointed by the delivery giant’s “aggressive strategy,” calling the company’s offer a “wholly inadequate, non-backdated 3.5 per cent pay increase”.

“These proposals spell the end of Royal Mail as we know it, and its degradation from a national institution into an unreliable, Uber-style gig economy company.

Make no mistake about it: British postal workers are facing an Armageddon moment.”

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