Rail unions have called off a national bank holiday strike
Tuesday 26th May 2015
Members of the RMT and TSSA unions had been due to walk out for 24 hours from 17:00 BST on Monday 25 May in a row over pay.
The RMT said the union’s executive had decided to suspend the strike, after the TSSA earlier called off its action. Many train services ran as planned on Monday and Tuesday but some will be affected by engineering work.
Union negotiators had been involved in four days of talks with Network Rail at conciliation service Acas. The unions rejected a four-year deal of a single £500 payment followed by three years of rises in line with RPI inflation, but details of the new offer have not been revealed.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT has received a revised offer that enables us to suspend the planned industrial action while we consult in full with our Network Rail representatives.”
Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA, said: “Our negotiating team… have suspended the planned industrial action, pending the outcome of a meeting of our workplace representatives next week.”
Lawyers for Network Rail halted plans to take legal action against the TSSA, over the way its ballot had been conducted, in the light of developments.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “Passengers right across the country will welcome this news and the knowledge that the extensive disruption threatening the bank holiday and the return to work on Tuesday has been averted.”
Rail passengers had been advised to expected travel chaos and not to travel if the strike by thousands of signallers, maintenance staff and station workers went ahead.
Widespread cancellations had been expected to services and rail companies had said further disruption and delays were likely on Wednesday, as services returned to normal.
Click here to read the article in BBC News.