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Rail strike: When are the strikes due to take place? Walkout on horizon as Network Rail talks enter third day

Talks have moved to a third day between Network Rail and RMT after a new pay offer was rejected on Thursday

Louis Dore
Monday 01 June 2015 11:54 BST
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Rail workers are set to strike in June following a breakdown in talks with Network Rail, as talks have entered a third day today.

On Thursday the union rejected a new pay offer, with a 1% rise this year, and a rise of about 1.4% next year, with no compulsory redundancies for the duration of the agreement, meaning that the strikes will go ahead as planned

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union are due to walk out for 24 hours from 5pm on 4 June and a further 48 hours from 5pm on 9 June.

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

Network Rail originally offered a four-year deal of a single £500 payment followed by three years of rises in line with RPI inflation, at the beginning of the talks.

RMT’s 16,000 members at Network rail work across operations and maintenance departments.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin previously said: "Millions of hardworking people will be disrupted by this unnecessary and unreasonable strike action. I condemn it wholeheartedly and urge the union to reconsider."

"Over the past 4 years Network Rail staff have enjoyed pay rises 8 times higher than other public sector workers. By any measure RMT members already get a fair deal.

"It is very disappointing that RMT has now rejected a deal delivered through Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) talks that the union’s leadership agreed was a reasonable offer.

"The government will do everything it can to help keep people and goods moving during the strike."

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