The trade union Unite has secured increased pay for workers at Hitachi trains working on Great Western Railways (GWR), resolving an industrial dispute. However, Hitachi engineers, repairs, and maintenance crews at LNER remain on strike though as Hitachi has not made the same offer to these workers.
Hitachi employees at GWR have secured the following two year pay increase following the threat of industrial action that would have led to trains remaining in the sidings without the repairs and maintenance necessary to run safely:
- Year 1 – 6% on basic pay plus a £1,250 lump sum payment backdated from 1 April 2023.
- Year 2 – 5.2% on basic pay effective from 1 April 2024.
But Unite and RMT members at LNER who have not been offered the same deal are unhappy with their pay in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “By standing together in unity our members on the GWR contract have secured an improved pay increase but it is reprehensible that the same firm is dragging its feet for other workers at different depots doing the same job.”
The stoppages affecting LNER began on Saturday 27 January and will take place at Craigentinny, Bounds Green & Doncaster maintenance depots across the East Coast mainline and will conclude on Thursday 1 February.
Image credit: Unite
