The beginning of the end of the chaos of the rail strikes? The TSSA union votes to accept the railway companies’ offer of a 5% wage increase followed by another 4% next year
- The TSSA said its 3,000 members voted overwhelmingly in favor of settlements.
- The union said it won an improved agreement on wages and commitments on job security.
Members of the Transport Salaried Staff Association (TSSA) train union voted to accept the rail companies’ bids in the long-running dispute over wages, job security and conditions.
The TSSA said its 3,000 members voted overwhelmingly in favor of deals that include a two-year pay increase equal to nine percent.
The union said it had won an improved agreement on wages, as well as commitments on job security and full consultations on any possible changes to terms and conditions after months of industrial unrest.
The union said 80 percent of management-grade staff and 60 percent of general-grade members voted to accept the offers.
The result means that the TSSA will formally accept the offers and notify the railway companies that the tickets have been withdrawn to continue the industrial action.
Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) picket outside Paddington Station in January
Dave Barnes, union representative for Network Rail and TSSA outside the Grant Shapps election office in Welwyn Garden City in London last month
The result means that the TSSA will formally accept the offers and notify the railway companies that the tickets have been withdrawn to continue industrial action (file image)
The pay agreement provides for a 5 per cent or £1,750 increase in 2022/23, and a further 4 per cent increase in 2023/24, the Transport Salaried Staff Association (TSSA) said in a statement.
“This is a clear decision by our members that will end our longstanding dispute,” a TSSA spokesperson said in a statement.
A TSSA spokesperson said: “This is a clear decision by our members that will put an end to our longstanding feud, something that could have been months ago had it not been for the government’s intransigence.”
“The incredible determination we’ve seen from our members has resulted in a significant improvement in the salary agreement over two years, commitments to no mandatory layoffs, enhanced redeployment opportunities, as well as full consultation on proposed box office reforms and any changes to the terms and conditions.
‘Thanks to the great commitment of our members in the railway companies, they have collectively won a better future and can be proud of their actions in this historic dispute.
We will continue to hold rail companies and the Government to account as we move forward because Britain needs a fully functioning rail network at the heart of our green industrial future, and as a means to rebuild our economy in the wake of the Covid pandemic. .’
Britain has faced disruptive strikes by rail workers since last summer, and strikes have since spread to the health and education sectors, putting Prime Minister Rishi Sunak under increasing pressure to Help end disputes.
Industrial action of the Association of Salaried Transport Personnel on January 12
The strike across Britain’s rail network will continue as the largest union RMT, which represents tens of thousands of rail workers, remains in a separate dispute.
The RMT is planning four days of walkouts over the next two months, with the first scheduled for March 16.
