NORTHERN rail users could face disruption if union members vote for strike action this month.

Rail union RMT will ballot its members on Arriva Rail North from Tuesday, January 10 to Wednesday, January 25, for both strike action and action short of a strike.

The dispute is over a pay offer from the company, which operates the Northern franchise across the north of England.

RMT claims the ‘unacceptable’ pay offer does not match the benchmarks for pay deals that the union has set elsewhere in the industry, but it remains available for talks with Arriva.

Mick Cash, general secretary at RMT, said: “The nonsense of a privatised railway has shown its colours yet again as new Arriva Rail North franchisee Deutsche Bahn – less than a year after taking over the contract – offer our members a ‘below the rate for the job’ pay deal.

“Industrial relations with the firm were already at a low and the latest pay offer shows continued contempt for the workers who run the service and make the company’s profits.

“Our members deserve to be paid properly for the work that they do.”

A spokesman for Northern told the Guardian that the pay offer made to workers by Arriva Rail North is a two percent increase in year one, followed by Retail Price Index plus 0.1 per cent in each of the following two or three years.

“We are disappointed to have now been notified by RMT that it intends to ballot its members following the negotiations in which the pay increase was offered,” the spokesman said.

“Northern has offered more than 5,000 employees a guaranteed, above inflation pay rise over the next three or four years.

“We firmly believe the offer made during negotiations was good for our employees, providing wage increases and stability against a backdrop of wider financial uncertainty.

“We remain committed to investing in our people and working towards a satisfactory conclusion.”