The national rail strikes that were due to hit train companies next week have been called off by the RMT union.
The union says that it called off the strike following further talks with the Rail Delivery Group, which represents the train operating companies. The union says that a proposal was offered which could lead to a resolution to resolve the current national rail dispute through a new offer.
It’s therefore calling off the strikes which were due to take place on Thursday 30th March and Saturday 1st April.
Had the strike gone ahead, it would likely have seen around half of all trains at the 14 train companies unable to run due to the lack of staff.
The RMT said that it will have further talks with a view to securing a new offer on pay, job security and working conditions, but warned that the dispute remains unresolved and that it will continue to make preparations for a re-ballot when the current mandates runs out in mid-May.
A Rail Delivery Group spokesperson said: “We welcome this positive step by the leadership of the RMT to call off their planned action on 30 March and 1 April. This is great news for our customers and for our staff.
“We are now jointly focused on working constructively towards a settlement to this dispute, which will mean we can do what we have always wanted to do – give our people a pay rise and help secure the long-term future of the railway with rewarding careers for all those who work on it.”
The decision by the union to suspend the strike action during the talks follows on from a settlement with Network Rail earlier in the week which saw those strikes also called off.
Of the other two main rail unions, the TSSA has settled its dispute, but ASLEF is still in dispute, although it hasn’t called any more strikes, yet.
