UPDATED 16.20
The RMT has refused Network Rail's latest pay offer and has announced two more strikes in early June. An earlier report that the TSSA had accepted was incorrect. The union said it remains in dispute while it conducts a referendum of its members.
Walkouts by RMT members are now planned for 24 hours from 17.00 on Thursday 4 June, and for 48 hours from 17.00 on Tuesday 9 June. There will also be industrial action 'short of a strike' from 00.01 Saturday 6 June to 23.59 on Friday 12 June.
RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “Our representatives have today rejected the pay package offered by Network Rail and in the absence of any further movement from the company that has left us with no option but to move to a rolling programme of industrial action which will begin next Thursday.
"We have a massive mandate for action which shows the anger of safety-critical staff across the rail network at attacks on their standards of living and the blunt truth is that this dispute could be settled for a fraction of the money being handed out in senior manager bonuses and to the train operators for not running services. That is a ludicrous situation which should never have been allowed to have arisen.
“With no shortage of cash in the bonus pot and to compensate the private train companies it is no wonder that our members take the view that 1% is wholly inadequate and fails to recognise the massive pressures staff are working under to keep services running safely at a time when the company is generating profits of £1 billion. It is our members battling to keep Britain moving around the clock, often in appalling conditions, and they deserve a fair share from Network Rail for their incredible efforts.
“Our rail staff deserve a fair reward for the high-pressure, safety-critical work that they undertake day and night and the last thing that we need is a demoralised, burnt-out workforce living in fear for their livelihoods and their futures and the message has come back loud and clear that that is exactly how they feel about the current offer from Network Rail.
“RMT remains available for talks and we hope that the company will appreciate the anger amongst staff at the current offer on pay and conditions from Network Rail and that they will agree to our call to come back to the table with an improved package."
Network Rail chief executive Mark Carne responded: “Our people know that there are ways to improve the way work is done. I have always said that if we work together to realise these benefits there is the possibility to increase pay. We are therefore ready to get around the table with whoever the RMT consider can speak on behalf of their members. It is clearly unacceptable for the RMT to massively disrupt the travelling public with strike action when we are ready to continue talks.”
Network Rail added that it will now restart its contingency planning with the train operators, but if a national rail strike goes ahead, it warned that rail services would be 'severely affected'.