An employment tribunal has found that rail employees were bypassed in collective bargaining negotiations, when Virgin Trains made an offer that had already been unanimously rejected in a ballot.
The legal proceedings were brought by Thompsons Solicitors on behalf of 1,250 National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) members, regarding events which took place in 2017, when Virgin Trains held the franchise on the east coast main line between London, Yorkshire, North East England and Scotland.
Following a meeting on 17 October 2017, the RMT agreed to put pay proposals to a ballot, although it advised that they were not acceptable due to various outstanding concerns, which included changes to sick pay provision. Members then voted overwhelmingly to reject the proposal.
The business responded by making a direct offer to the workforce on 13 November 2017, including the RMT members who had already voted to reject the deal, without continuing collective negotiations either with all recognised trade unions or the RMT.
The employment tribunal agreed the offer was unlawful, and had arisen as a result of a unilateral decision by Virgin Trains East Coast management to treat the collective bargaining process as if was at an end, and to implement the pay award. It concluded that the business’ purpose in doing this was to avert further collective negotiations.
Mick Lynch, general secretary of RMT, said: “This judgment illustrated the importance of parties adhering to the procedures that have been agreed to negotiate on pay and terms and conditions. The union had been appalled that the business had simply walked away from the negotiations when the members voted against the original proposal and sought to impose the offer, warning its members that they would not be afforded anything better if they did not do so.”
Virgin Trains, which is now part of the Avanti West Coast franchise, was contacted for comment prior to publication.