New rail strike threat

The prospect of a devastating strike on the railways loomed today after the breakdown of talks between infrastructure company Network Rail (NR) and the RMT rail union.

The union's executive will meet next week and will almost certainly call a strike ballot in the dispute over pay, pensions and travel facilities.

The RMT has 7,000 NR members, including signalling, maintenance and station staff. A strike by these staff would bring trains to a halt.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow said today: "The company has imposed a pension scheme for new entrants that is no better than a glorified savings plan subject to the whims of the market.

"Their pay offer of 3% is the lowest in the rail industry, and they have refused to follow the Mayor of London's (Ken Livingstone) lead and re-instate travel facilities to staff who joined the railway after privatisation in 1996.

"This is a company whose directors have handed themselves bonuses of up to £450,000 on top of telephone-number salaries and which boasts of spending £14 million a day. Those same directors are looking at another fat bonus if they keep our members' pay down."

Mr Crow went on: "What are our members supposed to think when they see their own pay being squeezed, their decent pension scheme destroyed and nothing done to end the inequality in travel facilities?

"Those left in the final-salary pension scheme are destined to pay ever-increasing costs as the scheme is left to wither on the vine.

"We will not sit back and watch as our members are made to pay the price of privatisation, and we will not tolerate a two-tier workforce."