Transport for Wales pay deal ‘shows Westminster is odd one out’ in rail dispute, says RMT

The RMT has accused the Westminster government of being the “odd one out” after rail bosses in Wales became the latest to reach a pay deal with unions.

Transport for Wales announced that it had reached an agreement with four unions in the long-running fight over pay and conditions, bringing to an end the threat of strikes on its services. It said the settlement with the RMT, Aslef, TSSA and Unite was worth 4.5% over nine months.

Disruption will continue on Welsh railways later this week, however, unless a separate dispute between the RMT and Network Rail is resolved. RMT staff at Network Rail and 14 train companies in England are due to stage another 48-hour walkout from noon on 24 December, which will shut down half of Britain’s rail lines. Further strikes are then planned for early January.

RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said the TfW agreement was worth between 6.6% and 9.5% and showed that the Westminster government was standing in the way of settlements with other train operating companies.

He said: “I congratulate members on securing a negotiated settlement on pay and conditions. RMT has now secured deals with the devolved governments in both Wales and Scotland.

“The union has also secured pay deals on TfL (Transport for London) and several areas where metro mayors are in charge of the railway franchise, including companies like Merseyrail.

“The Westminster government is the odd one out and needs to create the conditions for RMT to secure a negotiated settlement with Network Rail and the train operators on working conditions, pay and job security.”

The Welsh Government’s Deputy Minister for Climate Change with responsibility for Transport, Lee Waters, said: “This is great news and highlights how we do things differently in Wales, securing a fair pay deal via a progressive social partnership with unions that recognises the value of our rail workers.

“We strongly urge the UK Government to follow our lead by negotiating a pay settlement with unions in England so that further strike action and disruption for passengers and freight is avoided.”

A Department of Transport spokesman said: “The Government helped facilitate a fair and improved offer, delivering a pay increase more generous than those in the private sector and guaranteeing no compulsory redundancies.

“The significant proportion of RMT members who voted to accept this, despite being instructed not to, clearly recognised that. Unite members have accepted the very same offer and the TSSA leadership has also recommended its members to accept it. There is clearly an appetite amongst the workers themselves to strike a deal, which is what makes this result even more frustrating.

“The Government has played its part in trying to resolve this dispute and it’s time for unions to play theirs.”