More than 50 Tyne and Wear Metro engineers employed by Stadler Rail Service have accepted a pay offer after calling off planned strike action.
The engineers planned to strike from 14 to 28 November, with more action set to be scheduled if the dispute was not resolved, over a 4% pay offer. The employees also began an overtime ban on 15 October.
According to trade union Unite, this amounted to a real terms pay cut, as the real rate of inflation is currently 12.6% and expected to rise.
The improved deal included a higher offer for pay and allowances, backdated to January, a £1,000 one-off payment, and boosts to overtime rates and health benefits.
A Stadler Rail Service spokesperson said: “We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Unite on the 2022 offer, which will see our employees receive backdated pay and an increase in their salary in time for Christmas.”
Sharon Graham, general secretary at Unite, said: “By standing together in their union, these workers secured an improved pay offer from Stadler. This result is further evidence that Unite’s total commitment to improving our members’ jobs, pay and conditions is working.”
Suzanne Reid, regional coordinating officer at Unite, added: “This deal is another reminder that workers looking to increase their wages and make improvements to their working lives should join Unite.”
The Tyne and Wear Metro is the UK’s busiest light rail system outside of London. In October 2020, Stadler won a £300 million contract to build 42 new Metro trains, rebuild the Gosforth depot and maintain the Nexus Tyne and Wear train stock for 35 years.
It reported profits of £119 million in 2021 as well as record figures for order intake, order backlog and earnings before interest and tax.