We want same pay award as drivers, says RMT boss Mick Lynch

Rail workers expect the same terms as those offered to train drivers to end their strike action, the boss of the RMT union has said.

Mick Lynch told the Times he expected a “parallel, synchronised offer” to that offered to drivers’ union Aslef on Wednesday.

That agreement, which could end more than two years of walkouts, saw drivers offered a three-year pay deal, including a 4.5% rise this year.

The new Labour government also dropped attempts by the previous Tory administration to change drivers’ working practices.

Despite the pay deal, Aslef announced on Friday that drivers at London North Eastern Railway (LNER), a nationalised firm, would strike every weekend in September and October, and two in November in a dispute with management.

Nigel Roebuck, who has led Aslef’s negotiations with LNER, said members had complained about being consistently “badgered for favours” by managers “outside of rostering agreements and being contacted remotely”.

Conservative shadow transport minister Kieran Mullan said the Aslef strike was “a taste of what is to come: a nationalised train service seeing Labour-backing unions staging walkouts despite a bumper pay deal”.

The Conservatives have accused Labour of losing control of public sector pay and of “being played by its union paymasters”, and claimed all trade unions would now demand “double-digit rises”.

Shadow Commons leader Chris Philp said pay rises awarded by Labour, including a 22% increase for junior doctors over two years, would lead to tax rises at the Budget in October.

Labour Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds defended the government’s approach, saying it was “sticking to the promises we made in opposition” that “we would sit down and find solutions”.

He also told Times Radio it was wrong to suggest there would be no reform of the railways alongside the Aslef pay offer, adding: “We are absolutely looking to deliver a better service for passengers.”

The RMT has confirmed it will enter pay talks next week with the Department for Transport, which will negotiate on behalf of the train operating companies. It will also have talks with Network Rail.

Under the terms of a deal brokered last November, RMT members, such as train guards, were offered a backdated 5% rise for 2022/23, the same as that offered to Aslef members under their three-year deal.

The RMT deal said a 2023/24 pay offer would depend on formal negotiations with individual train companies on working conditions.

It is understood the agreement included a commitment to negotiate reforms at a local level for an expected 4% rise this year.

That amount would be below the 4.75% offered to Aslef drivers for that year as part of the deal to settle their dispute. Drivers have also been offered 4.5% for this year, which would take the average driver salary to around £68,000.

Mr Lynch told the Times: “All the indications are that we will be offered the same terms as Aslef. And we are expecting that it will be delivered.”

He added there could be “problems” if this was not the case.

The government has not yet said how the Aslef deal will be paid for. A senior rail industry source said the taxpayer is likely to have to contribute towards funding it, as it may exceed what train companies had set aside in their budgets.

The government in effect took control of the railways during the Covid pandemic, with most train companies in England moving on to contracts where they get a fixed fee to run services, and the taxpayer carries the financial risk.

A number of major operators, including TransPennine Express, have also been taken under public control in recent years.

Labour, which took over pay negotiations from the companies after returning to power at last month’s election, has argued the settlements are justified by an estimated £1bn cost to the economy of strike action.

The previous government claimed it was merely a facilitator of talks between the unions and train companies, although in reality it was the main player in the talks because of the financial situation.

However the deal with Aslef, described as “no strings” by the Labour-affiliated union, has also raised questions over the fate of changes to working conditions pursued by the previous Conservative government.

The terms of November’s RMT deal saw discussions over changes to working practices, such as rotas and weekend working, pushed back into this year.

Labour, which wants to fully renationalise nearly all remaining privatised passenger rail services over the next five years, has said it wants to put in place a “workforce strategy” for companies taken over by the government.

The RMT will also also hold talks with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) next week, on behalf of its Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) members who have been taking part in a fourth day of strike action in a long-running dispute over pay.

RFA personnel are civilian employees who provide logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and the Royal Marines, while also providing humanitarian aid, and combating piracy and the drugs trade.