Thousands more railway staff will vote on whether to go on strike, adding to disputes which threaten chaos on the train network this summer.
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) will ballot 6,000 Network Rail staff. The dispute is about pay, conditions and job security, the union says. If the members agree to take industrial action, they could walk out from July 25, the first week of the school holidays in England.
TSSA members working for CrossCountry, East Midlands and West Midlands trains are voting on a separate strike that could hit the network in late July or early August, when Birmingham hosts the Commonwealth Games.
Read more: The trains and stations affected by June's RMT rail strike
RMT members working for Network Rail and 13 operators, including LNER, Northern, CrossCountry and TransPennine have already agreed to strike over three days in June.
TSSA members at Network Rail work in operational, control, management and safety critical roles on rail services across Britain. TSSA is demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for 2022, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living.
Network Rail staff last had a pay rise between two and three years ago, depending on their pay grade, the union says, and worked throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. Members will be asked if to vote on whether to strike, and whether to take action short of a strike.
The ballot opens on June 20 and closes on July 11. Unions must give two weeks' notice before a strike, so July 25 is the earliest day they could walk out.
TSSA general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “We could be seeing a summer of discontent across our railways if Network Rail don’t see sense and come to the table to face the concerns of their staff.
“Network Rail staff are asking for basic fair treatment – not to be sacked from their jobs, a fair pay rise in the face of a cost-of-living crisis and no race to the bottom on terms and conditions.
“Fat cat bosses have so far refused these completely reasonable requests, leaving us with no option other than to ballot for industrial action, something which is always a last resort.
“It’s frankly ridiculous that we’re being forced to ballot. Network Rail only responded to our requests for pay talks – made before Christmas – when we moved the issue to dispute in April and have dragged their heels at every stage.
“Our members have had enough. We are preparing for all options, including co-ordinated strike action.”
A Network Rail spokesman said: “Now is not for time for the TSSA to be jumping on the RMT ‘strike bandwagon’.
“Positive pay talks were in full swing with a ‘no-strings’ pay offer of 2.5% on the table, with the potential for more if connected to productivity and efficiency gains, so this news is both premature and deeply disappointing.”
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