Transport Salaried Staffs' Association

7 August 2015

A meeting took place on Tuesday 4 August at which the Company made a further improved pay offer for non-management staff as detailed below:

• 2% increase in basic salary or £450 whichever is the greater
• 2% increase on non-pensionable associated allowances
• An increase to the current Maternity (for women whose due date is on or after 1 August 2015) and Paternity (if the child is due on or after 1 August 2015) provisions as follows:
  • Maternity: Weeks 1-12 at basic earnings, weeks 13-24 at half basic earnings or SMP whichever is the greater, weeks 25-39 SMP, and weeks 40-52 zero pay
  • Paternity: Two weeks at basic earnings
• Enhancements to current travel facilities for active and retired employees:
  • An increase to the Virgin Trains East Coast 1^st Class leisure travel benefit by one box for active employees. The Virgin Trains East Coast leisure travel benefit will also include the complimentary first class food offer (alcohol excluded). Available to employees and dependants travelling on the relevant Virgin Trains First Class Box Card and subject to availability
  • An increase to the Virgin Trains East Coast 1^st Class retired travel benefit by one box, applicable from 1^st April 2016 and subject to the normal qualification periods

The above offer was secured after much negotiation and as a package represents a significant improvement over the Company’s previous offers. In particular, the minimum increase of £450 will see nearly 1,000 lower paid staff who are currently paid less than £22,500 receive more than 2%, with the lowest paid receiving an increase of more than 3% on their basic pay. The improvements to current and retired staff travel benefits are also welcomed, and the addition of complimentary first class food for current staff means that members can enjoy all the comforts of first class travel (minus the alcohol of course) without having to buy a voucher. The improvements to both Maternity and Paternity provisions are also an important part of this offer, and provides much needed additional support to working parents and their families.

Although we did not secure any further improvement to the basic pay increase of 2%, we believe the above package represents the best possible negotiated settlement, and as such the negotiating team recommends it is accepted. If you are a TSSA member working for VTEC and disagree with this recommendation, please let us know via email to winesj@tssa.org.uk no later than 5pm on Thursday 13 August.

If you work for VTEC and require any further information on the contents of this article, please contact your TSSA reps in the first instance. Please also discuss the contents of this article with your colleagues, and encourage any non-members to join. The more members we have, the stronger we are. Membership application forms can be obtained from your TSSA reps or you can join on-line here.