Labour’s deal to end years of rail strikes will include payouts for train drivers who have quit the profession.
Rail workers were offered a 14pc pay rise over three years on August 14, in an effort to end two years of crippling strikes. The above-inflation increase will see the average driver’s salary rise from £60,000 to just under £70,000. However, because the pay deal is backdated from April 2022, it will also cover drivers who have left their jobs in the last two years.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former Conservative leader, said Labour was “throwing money at unions like confetti”.
He added: “If [the train driver pay deal] is backdated, then a whole bunch of people will end up getting paid who have left. It’s a very big payment at a time we’re being told we can’t afford it. Rachel Reeves pleads that she’s got a budget black hole but she’s just made it a bit worse.”
“And other public sector workers will now ask: why not them?”
Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, signed off on an above-inflation salary increase of 5.5pc for millions of public sector staff at a cost of nearly £10bn. Last month, Labour offered junior doctors a 22pc increase over two years to end NHS strikes.
The train driver offer is for a 5pc backdated pay rise for 2022 to 2023, a 4.75pc rise for 2023 to 2024, and 4.5pc increase for 2024 to 2025 – twice the projected rate of inflation. It is a total of 14.25pc over three years.
Aslef, the train drivers’ union, welcomed the “no-strings” deal which saw ministers ditch Conservative demands for an end to generous working practices, including a four-day week totalling 35 hours.