The inflation figures for March can be found here.

Management will undoubtedly point out the fact that RPI is now -0.4% and suggest that this means that prices are falling. However, CPI - which much more accurately reflects our real cost of living - is at +2.9%. So demands on our income are still rising significantly, but LUL still offers us just 1%, and that is tied to a five-year deal with RPI only for the next four years. The latest statistics do not justify LUL's offer: they simply confirm that it is a year-on-year real-terms pay cut.

Prices are still rising steeply in many areas, including: recreation and culture; games, toys and hobbies, particularly computer games; clothing and footwear.

Although the CPI figure is slightly down from February, when it was +3.2%, the government's own Office of National Statistics estimates that the effects of the Budget will add 0.25% to the CPI. So in reality, CPI is actually down a mere 0.05%.

RMT has consistently argued that at present, CPI far more accurately reflects real inflation as it affects London Underground and TfL workers. The government itself uses CPI rather than RPI as a basis for its inflation targets.

Moreover, RPI is only negative because of price falls for luxury goods and drops in mortgage interest payments. RPIX inflation, which excludes mortgage interest payments, is the relevant RPI figure for people who do not have mortgages or who are tied into a fixed-rate mortgage - a significant proportion of our membership. It was +2.2% in March.