Planned rail strikes on March 30 and April 1 have been cancelled by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) but “the dispute remains on,” it warned.
Strikes were cancelled on Wednesday after the Rail Delivery Group (RDG) made a proposal “which could lead to a resolution” of the dispute, RMT said, though is still planning to re-ballot members when its current mandate runs out in May.
The RDG is not understood to have firmed up a new or updated offer, rather saying it was now “jointly focused” on settling the dispute with RMT.
Rail staff have walked out on 29 days over the past year, including on Wednesday and Saturday last week, in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
Strikes on Britain’s railways were estimated to have cost the economy £6.6bn between August and February, with the industry itself taking a £25mln hit each time workers walked out, according to the Centre for Economic and Business Research.
A Department for Transport spokesperson commented the news marked a “positive step” towards a resolution, while also urging RMT “to do the right thing” and put a future offer to its members.