Merseyrail staff accept "sensible" 7% pay offer

The pay deal was described as "a sensible outcome" by the union

Union members have accepted a pay offer from Merseyrail in a deal they have praised for being in keeping with the spiralling cost of living.

The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) said the Merseyside rail operator's offer was worth 7.1%.

General secretary Manuel Cortes described the deal as "a sensible outcome to a reasonable offer".

Merseyrail said it met with trade unions colleagues as "part of our normal annual pay negotiations".

The union members include station retailers, customer relations assistants, train crew admin assistants, stations managers, resource controllers.

Ninety-four per cent of TSSA members in general grades at Merseyrail voted to accept the deal.

Members in management grades were offered the same terms, however, this has not been accepted yet.

Mr Cortes praised all involved for clinching the deal and said Merseyrail was a company "which knows the value of our rail and transport network".

'Needless and nonsensical'

"What this clearly shows is our union, and sister unions, are in no way a block on finding the solutions needed to avoid a summer of discontent on the railways," he said.

"Rather, it is the government who are intent on digging in their heels.

"The offer from Merseyrail will demonstrate to the entire country that ministers are set on a course of needless and nonsensical intransigence which benefits no one."

He added: "It is a sensible outcome to a reasonable offer which goes a long way towards keeping pace with the escalating cost of living."

The pay deal comes after members from the rail union RMT walked out on Tuesday in the largest rail strike in decades over jobs, pay and conditions.

Andy Heath, Merseyrail managing director said: "Merseyrail is solely responsible for making such pay offers, working constructively with our trade unions.

"We are not part of the current national dispute that is taking place between the RMT, Network Rail and train-operating companies directly contracted to the Department for Transport (DfT)."

A DfT spokeswoman added: "The financing of the agreement that has been reached between the TSSA and Merseyrail is a matter for them to explain to the people of Liverpool.

"No additional taxpayers' money will be spent on this cost increase."

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