GWR: No Written Response!

I am writing to update TSSA members since my last communication on pay, which you can read by clicking here

Since that communication I wrote to the HR Director advising that I was Failing to Agree and that a meeting needed to be held within 14 days with the appropriate Director. That letter made it clear that a failure to respond would mean that TSSA was in dispute with the company over pay, job security and terms and conditions. Unfortunately, the company failed to provide a written response to this letter despite me advising them that “We need to resolve this year’s pay talks swiftly to negate the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on your staff and TSSA members”. However, they have since advised they plan to meet with the full-time officers on 6 June and Company Council on 16 June.

Whilst your representatives and I remain sceptical of what might be on offer at these meetings, we remain willing to participate in any talks if they are meaningful with a view to achieving the substantial pay offer that you deserve.

However, we are still reserving the right to ballot all TSSA members working in GWR for industrial action in advance of the company council meeting on 16 June.

Let’s remember, we are now four months on from when we lodged our pay claim and have yet to be given the opportunity to discuss our pay claim with the company in detail and have not received a written response to it! If this was any normal pay year then such delay might be acceptable but when you have all faced two years of pay freezes, with no guarantees received about what will happen in this third year and an ever upwardly spiralling cost of living, stringing you along like this isn’t acceptable!

For context, non Dft controlled TOC’s have been able to make pay awards:

• Transport for Wales Rail Ltd recently settled it’s 2021 pay award for all grades giving them an RPI based 3.3.% pay deal
• MTR awarded a 1 year pay and no compulsory redundancy deal for 2022 of 8.2% based on February RPI for an April anniversary date
• Merseyrail recently agreed7.1% based on Novembers RPI for a January Anniversary date for Drivers and has offered 7.1% or £1600, whichever is greater to its general grades based on their April anniversary date.

What can I do to help?

Please help us prepare by:

• Ensuring your membership record is up to date and correct, particularly contact details like home address, personal email address and contact mobile number. You can update these either via Login | TSSA or email membership@tssa.org.uk or phone our members helpdesk on 0800 328 2673
• Encouraging your colleagues to join so that they have a say in what we do at Join Us | TSSA and have a chance to vote in any ballot that we run
• Considering standing to be a Trade union rep, or workplace contact if interested please email Alan Valentine who can liaise to see whether there might be an appropriate vacancy for your job role and grade 

Remember you don’t need to tell your employer whether you are a trade union member or not and everyone has a legal right to be part of a trade union regardless of their grade. If you are aware of people trying to put you off of being Trade union member or to get you to leave membership then this may be against the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, if you have details of colleagues or yourself being coerced to leave TSSA then please report these to Alan Valentine by clicking here

TSSA is a membership run organisation working on behalf and for it’s members. Joining it is about standing up for your rights and ensuring that you have a say in the workplace rather than just accepting what your employer tells you, let's stand strong and aim to win together!