As Christmas creeps up on us all, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) have rebuffed the latest pay offer to stop their planned strikes this festive season.
The RMT are set to continue with the industrial action planned for December, and have added extra dates on Christmas Eve and December 27. Railway workers are striking as they argue for a pay rise in line with rising inflation rates.
The union were offered a four per cent rise, backdated for 2022, and a further four per cent for 2023 by the Rail Delivery Group last weekend. However, the RMT argued that there were no guarantees beyond April 2024, and the proposals set by their bosses could well be detrimental to their jobs.
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The previous strike dates included:
- December 13, 2022
- December 14, 2022
- December 16, 2022
- December 17, 2022
- January 3, 2023
- January 4, 2023
- January 6, 2023
- January 7, 2023
These strike dates will still affect Scottish services despite ScotRail being nationalised. Maintenance staff and Network Rail Scotland signallers will be on strike, so services could well be delayed or cancelled.
Last night, the RMT announced that they would put the pay deal to union members, advising them to reject it. The electronic ballot will be open until noon on Monday, December 12.
Now, the fallout continues after a fresh rail strike was called from 6pm on Christmas Eve (December 24) until December 27. A statement from the RMT read: "There has been no improved offer from the Rail Delivery Group who still await a mandate from the government.
"As a result, all scheduled strike action will go ahead and the union awaits the outcome of a planned meeting with the RDG tomorrow."
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "We remain available for talks in order to resolve these issues but we will not bow to pressure from the employers and the government to the detriment of our members."
Talks between the RMT and the Rail Delivery Group - which represents train companies - are being held today
The ScotRail website will update on the days of the strikes to let customers know if their service has been affected.
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