19 January 2023
RMT Press Office:
Rail union, RMT today received a new offer from the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) following negotiations in the national rail dispute.
The union's NEC will now consider the detail within the offer and what next steps to take.
The proposals include detailed documentation covering a range of issues that affect all of our grade groups at these 14 companies and will require serious and careful consideration.
The proposals on pay and job security are directly conditional on cost savings and alterations to contractual terms, entitlements, and working practices.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: "The National Executive Committee will be considering this matter and has made no decision on the proposals nor any of the elements within them.
"We will give an update on our next steps in due course."
END
Notes:
Negotiations are continuing with Network Rail and no new offer has been received from that company.
The main elements of the proposals are as follows:
• Station Ticket Offices: All to be closed or “re-purposed”, subject to the statutory public consultation process, which RMT does not support.
• Creation of a new Multi-Skilled Station Grade: station retailing and other grades to be aligned and migrated to new grading and competence structure with some salary protections. There will be a new salary structure for new entrants.
• On-Board Train Crew Roles: the proposal to introduce Driver Only Operation has been withdrawn. However, companies have stated they could separately make proposals on train crewing through their own companies, separate to this dispute.
• Train Crew Codes of Practice: the companies have devised detailed codes of practice covering training, diagramming and rostering to be implemented in pursuit of efficiency.
• 7-Day Railway: a Sunday Commitment Protocol is proposed which will make Sunday working mandatory when rostered, if cover cannot be provided.
• Catering: all catering services to be reviewed on the basis of affordability and value for the companies
• Fleet Engineering: proposed implementation of new technology and process
• Training and Briefing: new practices and technology for safety critical and other training.
• Terms & Conditions: there are various other proposals on contractual terms and entitlements, including:-
o Flexible Working Contracts for new starters
o New Technology / Equipment to be adopted without additional payment
o Station Groups – with staff covering a cluster of stations rather than a home station
o Attendance Management – industry-wide principles based on ACAS guidelines
o Stood Off Arrangements to be reviewed
o Annual Leave Entitlements – new industry-wide entitlements; all staff to have Christmas Day and Boxing Day deducted from general entitlement
o Sick Pay to be redefined with more stages but with existing entitlement for those with 5+ years' service
o Company Health Appointments / Medicals etc will normally be during shift working time
o Review of former BR Conditions of Service: a joint review of those retained conditions, to align with modern working practices
• Voluntary Severance Scheme: a Voluntary Severance Scheme which will see circa 800 jobs removed, in addition to approximately 800 already removed from the TOCs on the previous round of VSS
It is a condition of the proposals (with the exception of ticket office closures) that all of the above must be accepted and implemented in order for the following to be offered:
• Job Security: No compulsory redundancies before 31st December 2024
• Pay:
o A 5% or £1750 increase, whichever is the greater, effective from the respective 2022 anniversary date
o A 4% increase, effective from the respective 2023 anniversary date
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