The RMT has rejected an offer from rail employers aimed at leading off more strikes.
The rail delivery group RDG offered the union a pay rise of 8% over two years with a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until April 2024, in an effort to resolve a long-running dispute over jobs, pay and conditions.
The RMT's general secretary, Mick Lynch, said: "We have rejected this offer because it does not meet our criteria for securing a long-term job security, a decent pay rise and protecting working conditions.
The RDG and DfT Department for Transport, both knew that this offer would not be acceptable to RMT members. If this plan was implemented, it would lead to the loss of thousands of jobs and the use of unsafe practices, such as DOO driver-only operation, where drivers operate the doors on all carriages and would leave our railways chronically understaffed.
RMT wants to reach a negotiated settlement on job security, working conditions and pay with the help of an urgent meeting with the RDG tomorrow morning. There are two 48-hour strikes this month by thousands of RMT members across 14 train operators and Network Rail. The RDG said it would deliver vital and long overdue changes to working arrangements.
It said the framework agreement gave the RMT a chance to call off its planned industrial action and put the offer to its membership. The strikes on 13 -- 14 and 16 -- 17 December, coupled with an overtime ban over Christmas, would result in a month of disruption on the network, the RDG said.
A spokesman said the service was fair and affordable. The RDG said it had proposed that ticket office staff move out of glass screens to other parts of the station.
It also offered a new contractual commitment for staff to work rostered Sundays, either as part of their core working week or as an additional working day remunerated at the existing rate set out in company-specific agreements. It said it does not mean removing staff from trains. It allows staff to focus on other safety issues and look after customers onboard with journey advice, selling tickets, etc. The aim is to see this extended across more areas of the network where appropriate technology and rolling stock can be used to improve safety of train dispatch and provide greater resilience in times of disruption. The transport secretary, Mark Harper, said the RMT's announcement was incredibly disappointing and unfair to the public, passengers and the rail workforce.
He said there was no place for outdated working practices that rely on voluntary overtime to run a reliable seven-day service.
Luke Chester, the organising director of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association, said he had requested an urgent meeting with the RDG on Monday to address our concerns after the union received new offers from Network Rail and the RDG.
He said that he was glad that the government has given power to the employers to make offers in an effort to resolve our dispute. We will be consulting with our reps tomorrow about the details of these offers.
The RDG offer has more strings than a harp, including some that have never been discussed before. Today s RDG offer omits significant points that had previously been negotiated.
Our union would expect a serious offer to include all those who have been affected by the dispute, as there is nothing in the offer for managers or controllers in train operators.