8 March 2023
RMT Press Office
Rail union, RMT will hold a referendum on a new and improved offer from Network Rail on pay and benefits.
The new offer involves extra money and is not conditional on accepting Network Rail’s modernising maintenance agenda which RMT does not endorse.
Network Rail’s offer amounts to an uplift on salaries of between 14.4% for the lowest paid grades to 9.2% for the highest paid.
There is an additional 1.1% on basic earnings and increased backpay.
The offer also has a total uplift on basic earnings between 15.2% for the lowest paid grades to 10.3% for the highest paid grades.
The increased backpay will be implemented and paid as a lump sum.
The improved offer also involves pulling forward the pay anniversary to October 2022 from January 2023.
55% of RMT members in Network Rail earn less than £35,000 so they will be entitled to the 15.2% uplift over two years.
Other benefits of the deal include 75% discounted leisure travel – a long held demand of Network Rail members.
RMT members in Network Rail will now decide whether to accept the offer in a referendum starting on March 9th and concluding on March 20th at midday.
In the meantime, industrial action on Network Rail is suspended.
The RMT is not making a recommendation on how to vote during the referendum.
RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “Network Rail have made a new and improved offer and now our members will decide whether to accept it.
“We will continue our campaign for a negotiated settlement on all aspects of the railway dispute.”
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Notes: The Network Rail offer covers 2022 and 2023.
