Hopes are growing of a breakthrough in the long-running rail dispute in Great Britain after the RMT union surprisingly called off a strike at Network Rail scheduled for next week.
Last night the RMT union cancelled planned strike action at Network Rail set for 16 March, after receiving a new pay offer. That offer will now be put to members in a vote.
An RMT spokesperson said last night: "The RMT national executive committee has taken the decision to suspend all industrial action on Network Rail following receipt of a new offer from the employer.
“Further updates will be given on all aspects of the national rail dispute in the coming days.”
Our transport correspondent, Gwyn Topham, reports that it is understood that the total headline pay increase has not changed but some amendments have been made to the previous offer that totalled 9% over two years.
That previous offer had been rejected by the union’s national executive committee.
This doesn’t mean that the rail industrial dispute, which began last spring, is over.
As things stand, RMT members at 14 train operating companies are still set to take industrial action on 16 March but the effect on many services will be far smaller than from a combined strike with Network Rail.
The breakthrough has been welcomed by Network Rail. Its chief executive, Andrew Haines, said: “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.”
The head of the UK’s largest investor has hit out at the UK government for failing to encourage growth and investment.
Sir Nigel Wilson, the chief executive of Legal & General, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that Britain was lagging far behind other countries in recognising the investment opportunities from the move to net zero.
L&G has £1.3tn of assets, and Wilson says that the company was keen to invest more in Britain but government policy was not helping.
The agenda
• 10am GMT: latest estimate of eurozone growth in Q4 2022
• Noon GMT: US weekly mortgage approvals
• 1.15pm GMT: ADP’s report of US private payrolls for February
• 3pm GMT: Federal Reserve chair, Jerome Powell, testifies to House Financial Services Committee
• 3pm GMT: Jolts survey of US job vacancies
We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ... |
Labour’s messaging on business tax is right. Just don’t leave a long-term plan until the last minute 
