Merseyrail: General Grades 2024 Pay offer and Referendum

Your TSSA negotiating team worked late into the evening on Tuesday 8^th October in negotiation on the General grades pay.

Previously the company had offered 4.6% or £2200 pay increase for the 2024 pay year backdated to the first Sunday in April (7^th), given the Pay survey that we had conducted we know that this didn’t meet our members aspirations because it didn’t resolve the fact that other grades had received a higher pay award and also the long standing issue that Sunday working rates were lower than other grades. As a result, we had written to the company to reject the offer.

In the previous meeting there had been some discussion about the fact the company uses a different reference point i.e. February Retail Prices Index (RPI) because it has an April anniversary date whereas the Drivers have a November reference point because their anniversary date is in January.

In Tuesday’s meeting we were focused on securing improvements to the offer and after several hours of talks we have secured an offer that we believe is the best we can achieve through negotiation alone and wish to recommend. In this offer the effective period of the offer runs from 7^th April 2024 till the last Sunday in January 2025 and amends the anniversary date to the last Sunday in January thereafter. This means that General Grades anniversary will now sit in line with the Drivers anniversary date. The company talked over some figures that demonstrated how the November reference point is generally higher than Februarys and based on projections of future RPI is how they then produced the headline pay percentage, but in the offer below there is also the introduction of a Sunday enhancement for those general grades who work Sundays.

The offer is as follows:

“General Grades 2024 Pay Offer

 Following our pay meetings, culminating on 8 October 2024, please find below confirmation of the full and final 2024 pay offer for General Grades.

 Pay offer of 6.5%, plus a fixed increase of £2,200 for those earning on or less than £26,000 as at the anniversary date of 7 April 2024.

 • This pay offer is effective from Sunday 7 April 2024 and takes effect until 24 January 2026.

• The subsequent pay anniversary for General Grades now takes effect fourth Sunday of January for each year thereafter, with the previous November RPI rate as the reference point.

• For Train Managers only – pensionable pay will increase from 80% to 100% taking effect from the next contribution rates change, scheduled to be on or around 1 July 2025.

• Sunday enhancement will be introduced to pay time and a fifth (120%) from 1 November 2024 across the grade. For the grade, this now becomes contractual.

• For those roles where Sunday is part of their existing working week (ie part-time On Board Cleaners and Part-time Station Staff), as a one off for this year’s pay offer only, the equivalent Sunday enhancement will be additionally paid onto their base pay and will be the new base rate for these equivalent roles going forward.

• No changes to any other terms and conditions are proposed.

• Next pay anniversary is 25 January 2026.  

I trust this sufficiently covers our discussions and look forward to hearing from you following your discussions with your representative”

Following receipt of the letter last night I have sought clarification from the HR director this morning and I have in writing the following clarification:

“As discussed on the call, the line in the letter: “Sunday enhancement will be introduced to pay time and a fifth (120%) from 1 November 2024 across the grade. For the grade, this now becomes contractual” should cover this as it means that should anyone in General Grades be required to work a Sunday, they will be contractually entitled to be paid time and a fifth for it.”

As a result of the above your negotiation Team is recommending Acceptance of the Offer and you will shortly receive a separate email with a link to vote in the Survey, this vote will close at 9am on Wednesday 23^rd October 2024.