Company with €401m profit fails to make any pay offer despite soaring prices

Workers at train company Abellio East Midlands will begin further strike action later this month over the company’s refusal to make any pay offer despite soaring living costs.

Over 140 workers, who are members of Unite, the UK’s leading union, took four dates of strike action in October as well as a further two days earlier this month and will strike again on 23 and 24 December. More strikes will be scheduled if the dispute is not resolved. 

Abellio made a net profit of €401 million in 2021. However, it has blamed its failure to make a pay offer on the Department for Transport (DfT), claiming that ministers have not authorised it to make a pay offer to its workers.

The workers ­­are based at depots in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham and employed as cleaners, technicians, shunters, engineers, inspectors, lathe operators, team leaders and supervisors.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Abellio is sitting pretty with millions upon millions in the bank. But this extremely wealthy company is trying to force its workers to accept what is in effect a drastic pay cut at a time when bills are rocketing. 

“Abellio’s excuses about not being able to put forward a pay rise are disingenuous. At best. Unite never accepts attacks on our members’ jobs, pay or conditions and Abellio’s East Midlands workforce have the union’s absolute support.” 

The failure to make a pay offer has resulted in workers struggling to make ends meet amid a cost-of-living crisis where the real rate of inflation (RPI) is currently 14 per cent.

Unite regional officer Andy Shaw said: “Our members do not want to strike during the festive period. But the disruption caused to the travelling public lies squarely at the door of Abellio. A proper pay offer needs to be put forward now.”

ENDS

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Unite is Britain and Ireland’s largest union with members working across all sectors of the economy. The general secretary is Sharon Graham.