Network Rail urges unions to return to talks to avert strike

theguardian.com:

Network Rail’s chief negotiator has urged union leaders back to the negotiating table to avert another national rail strike, arguing that the company has met its demands and that its latest offer should be put to members to vote on.

On Wednesday, the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT), which has as many as 40,000 members, announced another nationwide strike for 24 hours on 27 July in an ongoing dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

Union leaders called the offer made by the state-owned company, which runs Great Britain’s rail infrastructure and most of its big stations, “paltry”.

Leaders said the offer – a 4% rise this year and up to 4% next year if workers accept some changes in working conditions – represented a pay cut for members, with inflation expected to hit 11% by the end of the year.

“We have had some constructive conversations with the RMT over the last few weeks so it was frankly staggering that the offer we made on Monday [was rejected],” said Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s chief negotiator.

“[It is] a good solid pay rise and we’ve met the other things they told us were really important to them, like a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, and that changes would be agreed with them. They were the three things in dispute with us and we’ve met every single one of them.

“My main message to the RMT is get back around the table, let’s get this productivity agreed and let’s make sure this deal is put in front of our staff so they get an opportunity to vote on it. I think the vast majority of our staff would agree this deal if the RMT were to agree to ask them.”

Shoveller, the managing director of the north west and central region at Network Rail, admitted the level of the pay award in the