RMT suspends strike action following Network Rail breakthrough

Network Rail staff that belong to the RMT had originally planned to carry out strike action on March 16. This has now been suspended by the union’s executive committee after receiving a fresh pay offer from Network Rail.

The latest announcement from Britain’s largest railway workers’ union comes after months of strike action by the union’s members over pay, jobs and conditions.

Britain has been gripped by an unprecedented wave of industrial action by hundreds of thousands of workers, including NHS workers, school teachers, university staff and other public sector workers, as the country’s wages fail to keep pace with rising inflation and an ever-deepening cost-of-living crisis.

The new deal will also go out to members to vote on, something Network Rail has been pushing for.

The suspension will have no impact on other instances of industrial action against rail firms planned to take place on the 16th, 18th, 30th and 1st April.

“We are relieved for our people, passengers and freight customers that industrial action in Network Rail has now been suspended. We look forward to further information on plans for a referendum,” Network Rail chief executive Andrew Haines said in a statement.