UK rail strike talks continue as walkout looms

http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/may/31/uk-rail-strike-talks-resume-walkout-rmt-network-rail

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Talks aimed at averting strikes by rail workers in a dispute over pay have resumed.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Network Rail (NR) are due to walk out for 24 hours from Thursday evening and 48 hours the following week, threatening travel chaos after a new pay offer was rejected.

The two sides agreed to meet at the conciliation service Acas to try to resolve the dispute and avert strike action. Talks entered their third day on Sunday after they were were adjourned on Saturday night.

Workers, including signallers and maintenance staff, are also planning to ban overtime from 6-12 June.

Mick Cash, the general secretary of the RMT, said in a message to members: “Your negotiating team was invited to further discussions at Acas on the Network Rail dispute at short notice. Discussions have commenced and our full team will be in London to take the negotiations forward.

“RMT is fully committed to achieving a negotiated settlement and will be available in London for discussions for the whole weekend and beyond in order to achieve a settlement.”

A planned strike over last week’s bank holiday was suspended after Network Rail tabled a fresh pay offer.

NR originally offered a four-year deal – £500 this year, followed by three years of increases in line with RPI inflation. The latest offer was for two years – a 1% rise this year and around 1.4% next year, with no compulsory redundancies for the duration of the agreement.