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The country’s largest railway employees union has warned of dispute network rail pay more.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) said its members have faced declining real pay rises for years despite improvements in productivity by staff across the railways.
The union argued that decades of privatization and fragmentation had increased costs and weakened the industry’s ability to invest.
composed of Great British Railways The (GBR) is an opportunity to rebuild an integrated, publicly accountable railway that values its workforce, delivers better outcomes for passengers and puts investment back into the system rather than private profit, the RMT said.
General Secretary Eddie Dempsey said: “Our members add value to the railway, keeping it running safely day and night and achieving increasing levels of productivity.
“However, the value of their pay packets has fallen below the cost of living and they want a solution to this.
“Network Rail management needs to create a proposal that reflects the hard work, professionalism and productivity of staff in maintenance and operations.
“If we want to rebuild rail, make GBR successful and revive BritainWe must start by valuing the people who run the railways.
A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We are surprised and disappointed by the RMT’s decision to declare a dispute before pay negotiations have even begun.
“The anniversary date of the next pay review is not until January 1 and we have already scheduled meetings with all three unions in November to discuss their proposals.
“We are committed to constructive dialogue and are always ready to talk to our trade union colleagues.”