| The RMT says it has secured a “landmark” victory for low paid cleaners working on the Tyne and Wear Metro. Officials say it will lift the contract workers out of the poverty trap of the minimum wage and on the pathway towards a genuine living wage. The dispute, one of the longest running anywhere in the UK, has stretched back well over a year and has involved 19 days of strike action. The pay deal comprises: • A 5% increase to Rates of Pay from the 01st October 2013 (Incorporating the National Minimum Wage Increase recently announced by the Government) which presents a new hourly rate of £6:50. • A 5% increase to Rates of Pay from the 01st October 2014, presenting a new hourly rate of £6:82. • A 5% increase to Rates of Pay from the 01st October 2015, presenting a new hourly rate of £7:17. • A 5% increase to Rates of Pay from the 01st October 2016, presenting a new hourly rate of £7:52. • An additional Annual Leave Day, commencing from January 2014. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said: “This pay deal, which lifts our cleaner members on this key North East transport contract out of the shackles of the minimum wage and on the pathway to a Living Wage, is a breakthrough that will send out the clearest possible signal to low paid workers throughout the land that if they fight they can win. “RMT members have shown guts and determination through a long and hard campaign with well over a year of rock-solid strike action in the fight for workplace and pay justice. “They are an example to us all. RMT also wants to pay tribute to our reps and regional officials who have been instrumental in securing this landmark pay agreement. “The union focus now turns to other campaigns with companies like ISS and Initial where the fight for a living wage, decent working conditions and social justice rages on. “Workers at these companies will take great heart from the Churchill’s Metro victory.” - See more at: http://union-news.co.uk/2013/10/breaking-rmt-hails-victory-year-long-tyne-wear-metro-pay-battle/#sthash.6StVvFAy.dpuf |