March 20, 2023 6.00 pm
This story is over 7 months old
Lincolnshire train strikes still planned as union accepts new pay offer
Possibly a major breakthrough in rail union negotiations
The National Union for Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) has been on a series of rolling strikes for a year now | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
Train strikes in Lincolnshire are still set to go ahead later this month, although there are hopes of an end to the dispute.
The RMT accepted Network Rail’s new pay offer on Monday.
However, disputes are still ongoing with 14 other rail operators.
Industrial action is planned for Thursday, March 30 and Saturday, April 1, likely leaving Lincolnshire with barely any rail service once again.
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers has been embroiled in a year-long dispute with 14 train operators and Network Rail, over pay, conditions and job security for their members.
It has seen regular strike action and picket lines impact the rail sector, as workers put their foot down and demand fairer terms, but significant progress has now been made.
The RMT accused Network Rail and the government of prioritising profit over people. | Photo: Ellis Karran for The Lincolnite
In a near 90% turnout, RMT members voted by 76% to 24% in favour of Network Rail’s updated offer for its signalling workers.
The offer made to the RMT will see a 14.4% salary uplift for the lowest paid grades, 9.2% for the highest paid, as well as basic earning boosts of up to 15.2%.
The ‘no compulsory redundancy’ agreement has been renewed until January 2025, backpay has been increased and rail travel benefits will be discounted in other key aspects of this deal.
However, this is a deal for the RMT’s 20,000 members that work for Network Rail only, meaning that disputes with 14 train companies are yet to be resolved.
This means that upcoming strike action on Thursday, March 30 and Saturday, April 1 will go ahead as planned, unless new offers are made by the 14 rail operators currently locked in disputes with the RMT.
Timetables for these strike days are yet to be released, but it is increasingly likely that the trend of Lincolnshire having next to no rail services on affected days will continue.
| Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite
LNER, one of the rail operators involved in the dispute, has removed tickets from sale for Thursday, March 30 and Saturday, April 1 while new timetables are revised.
RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “Our dispute with the Train Operating Companies remains firmly on and our members recent highly effective strike action across the fourteen train companies has shown their determination to secure a better deal.
“If the government now allows the train companies to make the right offer, we can then put that to our members but until then the strike action scheduled for March 30 and April 1 will take place. The ball is in the government’s court.”
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Schools and universities in Lincolnshire recognise the potential benefits, but also the concerns, over the use of artificial intelligence.
The results of the government’s first ever Call for Evidence on Artificial Intelligence in Education’ report were published on Tuesday, November 28. It was open for 10 weeks and closed on August 23 this year, with 567 responses received during that time. Most respondents were “broadly optimistic” about the use of GenAI in education.
Almost two months on from Network Rail stating it had implemented “new cleaning regimes” for its railway bridge on Brayford Wharf East, the same concerns of graffiti, dirt and moss growth are continuing — and we are no clearer on how regularly the bridge is cleaned.
The bridge, which opened in 2019 in a bid to improve public safety on the railway crossing, is regularly used by many commuters and residents in Lincoln, but it has been the topic of a cleanliness discussion for many months now.
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