UK rail union RMT is balloting 12,000 infrastructure workers and 5,000 signallers at Network Rail for industrial action in two separate disputes ” the results of which will be known on 22 May.
The earliest strikes could consequently be called would be seven days later, and would have a ”drastic effect” on the network said an RMT spokesman.
Network Rail has hired many infrastructure workers from the private sector and is trying to create a single set of terms and conditions for them ” but union members rejected an offer by a landslide margin.
”The company has been using the talks to try to drive down our members' conditions, and they can hardly be surprised that their pathetic offer was thrown out by a margin of more than 100 to one," RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today (12 May).
"The company is now saying that our members can stay on their existing terms, but they are already moving to sneak inferior conditions in through the back door with a list of issues it now wants to 'discuss' separately. We know that means an attack on everyone's terms and conditions, not least because the company is looking to cut its maintenance budget by up to 12% year on year.”
Network Rail director of human resources Peter Bennett responded: ”We are talking with the unions about standardising more than 50 sets of terms and conditions that were inherited several years ago when maintenance was brought back in-house. This work continues and no agreement over the proposed new ones has been reached, so maintenance workers have nothing to strike against at this time, and we urge the RMT to come back to the table to continue to negotiate.”
Some 5,000 signallers and other operational staff rejected a separate pay rise of 4.8% this year and then RPI plus 0.5% in 2009. Network Rail said it was ”one that people in any walk of life would recognise as a good deal” and said the union demands are ”unreasonable.”
It had offered to go to 4.9% for the first year but Crow called this response ”cynical” and the deal has reverted to 4.8%.
Bennett”s plea to Network Rail employees is to ”consider carefully the issues on the table” and ”to use their vote to turn away from damaging industrial action.”