RMT Union announces fresh round of strike action in March and April

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RMT Union announces fresh round of strike action in March and April

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Picture of Michael Holden

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Northern train at Liverpool Lime Street
CAF/Northern Class 195 at Liverpool Lime Street // Credit: Northern

The Union has announced that strike action will take place across the UK in March and April 2023 in the ongoing dispute over pay and job conditions.

The union, which represents and 14 train operators, rejected offers last week as “they did not meet the needs of members”.

Workers will now launch a programme of strike action and Network Rail members will start an overtime ban effecting maintenance and operations work.

Strike action will take place on:

  • 00:01 hours and 23:59 hours on Thursday 16th March 2023
  • 00:01 hours and 23:59 hours on Saturday 18th March 2023
  • 00:01 hours and 23:59 hours on Thursday 30th March 2023
  • 00:01 hours and 23:59 hours on Saturday 1st April 2023

Network Rail members will take strike action on

  • 02:00 hours on March 16th 2023 and 01:59 hours on March 17th 2023.

Additionally, the overtime ban will take place:

Maintenance:

  • Seven days of overtime, rest day working ban and non-rostered Sunday working from 00:01 hours on Friday 17th March 2023 until 23:59 hours on Thursday 23rd March 2023
  • Seven days of overtime, rest day working ban and non-rostered Sunday working from 00:01 hours on Friday 31st 2023 until 23:59 hours on Thursday 6th April 2023
  • Seven days of overtime, rest day working ban and non-rostered Sunday working from 00:01 hours on Friday 14th April 2023 until 23:59 hours on Thursday 20th April 2023

Operations:

  • Seven days of overtime, rest day working ban and non-rostered Sunday working from 00:01 hours on Sunday 26th March 2023 until 23:59 hours on Saturday 1st April 2023
  • Seven days of overtime, rest day working ban and non-rostered Sunday working from 00:01 hours on Sunday 9th April 2023 until 23:59 hours on Saturday 15th April 2023
  • Seven days of overtime and rest day working ban from 00:01 hours on Sunday 23rd April 2023 until 23:59 hours on Saturday 29th April 2023

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “Rail employers are not being given a fresh mandate by the government to offer our members a new deal on pay, conditions and job security.

“Therefore, our members will now take sustained and targeted industrial action over the next few months.

“The government can settle this dispute easily by unshackling the rail companies.

“However, its stubborn refusal to do so will now mean more strike action across the railway network and a very disruptive overtime ban.

“Ministers cannot continue to sit on their hands hoping this dispute will go away as our members are fully prepared to fight tooth and nail for a negotiated settlement in the months ahead.”

A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson, said: “This latest round of strikes is totally unjustified and will be an inconvenience to our customers, and cost our people more money at a time they can least afford it.

“The RMT leadership’s decision not to put the deal out to a referendum means that thousands of their lowest paid members have been denied a chance to have a say on an offer which would give them a pay increase of over 13%.

“The RMT agreed from the outset that the industry needed modernisation and understood that was how a pay rise could be funded. After many months of extensive talks and meeting key demands on DOO, pay and job security, the leadership have now reneged on that position and say they not accept any reforms. They know that no employer who has lost 20% of its revenue could accept those terms.

“The vital changes will not go away because the RMT refuses to engage with them. We remain open to having further talks, but urge the leadership to put the deal they negotiated with us to a democratic vote and allow their members – our people – a say their own future.”

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  1. Fully support your right to strike. Fully support your aims. It’s not convenient for me, it’s not meant to be. It’s not just about money, it’s about T&Cs, it’s about lack of investment.

    1. How on earth do you think the government will be able to invest anything at all if it is being held to ransom by the RMT? These people who are striking will be lucky to have a job in a year’s time, as more and more people – like me – will just stop using the trains.

  2. These people are not going to be allowed to compromise by their ,so called leaders, with their now obviously political agenda. They won’t engage ( in what trade unionist say is a wonderful thing) collective bargaining. They are going to ruin family ‘s Easter Holidays now, just like they did at Christmas. What is next to ruin? Trips for the King’s coronation?

  3. you better stop these strikes because people are getting so fed up with this every single month, so what if it carries on during the summer holidays when people decide to go to the seaside or stay in a caravan or see their families that live by the coast and they cant get a train because they are striking, people will say it is a waste of time

  4. The objective of these strikes has nothing to do with wage increases. They are all about promoting the aim of the communist party, to bring down the uk government and wreck the economy. The rmt will never accept any pay offer.

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