The RMT union said on Friday afternoon that three days of industrial action by thousands of its members at Network Rail, due to take place on Saturday, Monday and Wednesday on lines across the country, would no longer go ahead. The union said it had secured unconditional talks with Network Rail and the promise of a pay offer from train operators. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The threat of strike action and our strongly supported industrial campaign has put rail employers on notice. We have always wanted to secure a negotiated settlement and that is what we will continue to push for in this next phase of intensive talks. “Our priority is our members and we are working to secure an agreement on job security, a decent pay rise and good working conditions. Our re-vote remains alive and if we have to go on strike over the next six months to secure a deal, we will.” Tim Shoveller, Network Rail’s chief negotiator, welcomed the announcement but said it was too late to restore services on Saturday and they would remain “extremely limited”. Special strike timetables will largely remain in place for Monday, but operators hope services will return to normal after that. A spokesman for the Rail Delivery Group said: “It is positive that the RMT leadership has stepped back from the brink and suspended their strike. Our advice remains to check before you travel and on Saturday and Monday only travel by rail if necessary. “We remain committed to intensive negotiations to agree the reforms needed to improve reliability, raise wages for our people and put the industry back on a sustainable financial footing.” Merseyrail said its services would be partially restored on Saturday as a result of the strike being stopped. Rugby fans traveling to Cardiff for the Wales v New Zealand game will be among those affected by Saturday’s disruption. The RMT said Network Rail had initially said discussions and consultations had closed and intended to impose maintenance changes without agreement with the union. “Now they have backed down and will continue talks on the basis that ‘nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,’” he said. “This removes the reason for the current phase of action and means that talks can continue without conditions set unilaterally by the company.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “This is a positive development for passengers up and down the country, but the very late notice means, unfortunately, there will still be significant disruption to the network tomorrow and Monday. “We encourage unions and employers to continue their negotiations and the cancellation of these strikes has given these talks a better chance of success. It is vital, for passengers and workers alike, that all parties continue to work together and deliver a modern railway we can all be proud of.” The TSSA has announced it is canceling planned rail strikes on November 5, 7, 8 and 9 after receiving an invitation for “intensive talks” from the Rail Delivery Group. TSSA members were to strike at five different rail companies on different days during the period. Its interim general secretary, Frank Ward, said: “We have always said that strikes are a last resort and we are delighted to finally be invited to the first round of formal talks with train operators for months. However, it is ridiculous that the invitation was only issued less than six hours before the start of our strikes. “This will cause disruption to rail travel over the weekend as train companies will not have time to restore canceled services. This could have been avoided entirely if the Rail Delivery Group and their paymasters at the Department for Transport and Transport Secretary Mark Harper had invited us to talks earlier.”
