24-hour strike action planned for Sunday, May 18 was called off after the company dropped plans to extend the use of contractors within engineering and agreed to pay all overtime within the engineering grades at a time and quarter with effect from Sunday June 8 2008.

The company also agreed to implement 35-hour week rosters and a 25 per cent increase in earnings for some of the lowest paid cleaning grade members.

RMT general secretary Bob Crow congratulated members on sticking together and standing up to a management that had not previously been prepared to treat staff equally.

“The vast majority of FGW engineering and cleaning staff were still being paid the flat hourly rate for their overtime, rather than the time-and-a-quarter enjoyed by other FGW staff, including train-crew and station staff.

Staff at Bristol, Reading, Oxford, Penzance, Exeter, Plymouth, Swansea, and Old Oak Common in London had voted by a three-to-one margin for strike action.

“Due to the steadfastness of members at FGW, these inequalities have been removed.

“This once more shows what can be achieved if all grades organise and work together in one industrial union.

This month RMT also launched a charter for train maintenance depot workers to address the issues of disparity between pay rates, overtime enhancements and employment conditions.

“This is the first step in making our members' wishes a reality,” Bob Crow said.

ends