STV NewsFresh strike action is set to be taken by rail workers across the UK as a pay dispute continues.
A 24-hour strike will take place on Wednesday, July 27, in further action taken by the RMT.
Its members will stage a walk out after the union rejected a 4% pay offer from Network Rail, which it described as “paltry”.
Last month, commuters faced disruption to their travel with strike action taking place across three days.
The latest offer was backdated to January, with a rise of 2% next year and a further 2% conditional on “modernisation milestones” being achieved.
However, the RMT has called for guarantees over jobs and working conditions.
RMT general secretary Mick Lynch claimed that Network Rail are seeking to make members poorer.
“The offer from Network Rail represents a real terms pay cut for our members and the paltry sum is conditional on RMT members agreeing to drastic changes in their working lives,” he said.
“We have made progress on compulsory redundancies. But Network Rail are still seeking to make our members poorer when we have won in some cases double what they are offering, with other rail operators.
“The train operating companies remain stubborn and are refusing to make any new offer which deals with job security and pay.”
Lynch stated that the union remains open to further talks as part of efforts to resolve the dispute.
He said: “Strike action is the only course open to us to make both the rail industry and government understand that this dispute will continue for as long as it takes, until we get a negotiated settlement.
“The public who will be inconvenienced by our strike action need to understand that it is the government’s shackling of Network Rail and the TOCs that means the rail network will be shut down for 24 hours.
“We remain open for further talks.”
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