Potential for more strikes as RMT members reject latest pay offer from ScotRail bosses

dailyrecord.co.uk:

There could be more rail strikes coming down the line as RMT members have rejected a pay offer from ScotRail bosses.The ScotRail workers, including conductors, ticket examiners, engineering staff, train presentation teams and station staff, were balloted on Thursday, August 4 and voted to reject the offer of a five per cent increase.This means unless both sides get back round the table to negotiate, more strike action could be on the horizon.There have been a number of days of strike action this year already, with the Scottish rail network grinding to a halt as a result. Don't miss the latest headlines from around Renfrewshire.

Sign up to our newsletters here. The pay offer is broken down as a 2.2 per cent increase, backdated to April 2022, funded by Transport Scotland to “recognise the cost-of-living challenges”, and a further 2.8 per cent increase to be funded by ScotRail, which “recognises and rewards the flexibility of rostering arrangements as ScotRail responds to changes in our markets as we emerge from the pandemic”.A similar offer from Scotrail was accepted by the better-remunerated members of the train drivers' union Aslef last month.However, RMT union members are holding out for more, with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research saying inflation measured against the consumer price index (CPI) could reach 11 per cent by the end of the year, with the retail price index (RPI) coming in at 17.7 per cent, reflecting a real terms pay cut for workers.CPI is measured using the average cost of shopping and