As a 5 percent pay raise for rail workers earning more than £60,000 was about to be rejected as being too low, union barons today warned that a nationwide strike that will paralyze Britain is “coming” and that employees who ignore it will be stigmatized as “scabs.”
The leaders of the RMT and Aslef unions have urged workers “across the economy,” including as teachers, NHS employees, and postal workers, to “stand together” with train workers in preparation for a summer of unrest.
According to Aslef, nine out of 10 members want to strike over salary.
However, Britain’s unions are moving toward coordinated strikes to create the first nationwide strike since 1926.
Aslef is scheduled to convene tomorrow to declare additional strikes.
To prevent summertime strikes, rail executives have proposed double-digit salary increases.
Threats of strike action are looming as train drivers, civil officials, teachers, Heathrow employees, barristers, and NHS employees demand pay increases ranging from 7% to a staggering 30% over the next five years.
One of Mick Lynch’s generals and RMT leader Eddie Dempsey warned members of the Transport Select Committee that workers from all sectors of the business and country were going to unite and declare, “We deserve a salary increase.” And that will happen.
The majority of people in this nation don’t seem to be aware that something bigger is going on.
“People are no longer willing to accept that they must be kept in poverty so that those at the top can continue to reap the benefits.”
That has passed, and things will alter in the near future.
Following the Commons’ approval of the plans for allowing agency employees to take the place of strikes, ministers have been accused of introducing a “scab charter.”
After their proposals to permit agency employees to take the place of strikers were accepted in the Commons, Aslef’s general secretary, Mick Whelen, informed MPs that they had proposed a “scab charter.”
“The scab charter you have passed,” he remarked. It will be like that. People that scabbed in 1955 and 1982 are still unspoken to in our industry.
Scab management is the only employer of scab labor. The future labor relations in this sector will be ruined as a result.
“Anyone that uses scab labor, and it’s risky, we won’t be working with them,” the statement read.
And after that, everyone who used scab labor will be viewed very differently going forward.
He defined a scab as “anyone who breaks the strike and crosses the picket line” when asked what he meant by the term.
As a result of a threatening letter received to a worker who refused to go on strike, RMT union leaders have also been charged with “bullying” members into going on strike.
In an effort to avoid a summer of strikes, unions are anticipated to reject a salary increase offer for the lowest-paid workers today.
This year, Network Rail gave militant RMT union members earning under $24,000 the equivalent of a 13% pay increase.
It would be retroactive to January and have “no strings attached.”
If the RMT consents to the modernization of specific working methods, the increase would likewise be matched the following year.
It is higher than the current RPI inflation rate of 11.7%.
The incentive would be worth little over 5% for higher-paid employees with wages over £60,000 this year and next.
This year and the following, all employees will receive a cash bonus of about £650, with lower-paid employees receiving an additional £250.
They would also receive a promise that no compulsory layoffs would occur, which is a fundamental demand of the RMT, as well as a 75% discount on rail fares, including for their families and children.
In the event that the two-year salary offer is rejected, Network Rail executives plan to bypass the union barons and try to negotiate a settlement directly with the workforce.
They believe the two-year compensation offer is generous.
According to sources, this would take the form of an internal referendum because they are confident that employees will accept the offer.
The TSSA train union, whose members have also chosen to go on strike, has also received a salary offer.
The offer was a slightly lower 4% increase for this year and a 3% increase for 2023 if certain modernization of working procedures is agreed because it represented better-paid personnel in managerial jobs.
In addition, they would get £650 in bonuses and 75% off rail tickets.
The national executive committee (NEC) of the union, according to RMT boss Mick Lynch, has already stated that it would be rejected.
Additionally, he threatened to work with the TSSA and Aslef, the union representing train drivers, whose members have also chosen to strike.
At the end of this month or in the first few days of August, workers from all three unions, which collectively represent over 90,000 rail workers, may go on a nationwide strike.
Our NEC will need to decide on this offer tomorrow, according to Mr. Lynch.
However, Network Rail and the train operating companies need to be aware that RMT has agreements with both London Underground and, most recently, Merseyrail that go much beyond what is being given to our members here [pay increases of 8.4% and 7.1%, respectively].
“If the rail sector will not seek a negotiated settlement with us,” the union said, “we will not hesitate to initiate future strike action and seek to coordinate with Aslef and TSSA.”
‘These current offers don’t come close to what our Network Rail members anticipate,’ TSSA boss Manuel Cortes said, making it seem as though his union will reject the agreement. These most recent plans will merely bake in real-term pay reductions after years of salary freezes.
“However, we observe that this is back on the table after Network Rail executives made a vow to avoid forced layoffs for more than ten years.
Sincerely, the corporation just used the prospect of forced layoffs to try to intimidate our members into agreeing to a poor compensation arrangement.
Even if the RMT and TSSA accept the offers, there will still be open disagreements between the three unions and the train operators who serve the majority of the nation.
However, it might mitigate the effects of strikes and open the door to a breakthrough in negotiations regarding the outstanding issues.
It follows Aslef’s acceptance of an agreement with ScotRail this week that includes a baseline wage increase of 5%.
To generate millions of pounds in savings, Network Rail, which oversees track maintenance and signaling, aims to modernize operating procedures.
A Network Rail spokesman responded to the most recent proposal by saying: “While money is extremely tight due to the financial difficulties the railroads are experiencing as a result of the epidemic, we can afford to make this offer provided our workforce accepts change and compromise, which will fund it.”