EFFICIENCIES are needed to create a sustainable railway but the spike in inflation has put added pressure on pay, said Network Rail’s chief executive Andrew Haines ahead of the June strike action, the most significant for 30 years.
Mr Haines said: “NR has had very extensive conversations about pay and modernisation with the unions since December 2020, with quite a lot of progress made… [but] inflation has changed immensely, and there is now an expectation for pay rises at a level way beyond anything we’ve had in recent years, with people genuinely feeling the cost of living.