Railway workers are voting on another strike that could disrupt trains in the North East and around the country.
The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) is asking members who work for Network Rail, CrossCountry, LNER, TransPennine Express, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast, C2C and Great Western Railway to vote on the possibility of taking strike action. The union is demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies for 2022, no changes to terms and conditions without an agreement, and a pay increase which reflects the rising cost of living.
Members will vote on June 29. As unions must give two weeks' notice of any action, mid-July is the earliest time they could strike. That could hit the start of the school summer holiday in England.
Read more: 'Amazing' support at rail strike picket lines
CrossCountry, LNER, TransPennine Express and Northern all operate trains in the North East. Stations likely to be affected include Newcastle, Durham, Darlington, Alnmouth, Morpeth, Berwick, Sunderland, Hexham and others inbetween.
It is a separate dispute from the RMT strike, which is due to enter its third day on Saturday June 25.
The union’s general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “Our members at Greater Anglia are seeking basic fair treatment in the teeth of a crippling cost-of-living crisis.
“Rail workers were hailed as heroes in the pandemic and now they deserve a real terms pay rise which keeps pace with inflation, rather than shouldering the burden of the Tories’ economic meltdown.
“Our demands are simple – pay which reflects the times we live in, a deal which delivers job security, and no race to the bottom on terms and conditions.
“It’s time the Government changed course. Instead of making cuts across our railway the Department for Transport should either give Greater Anglia and other companies the signal to make us a reasonable offer, or ministers should come to the negotiating table and speak to us directly.
“The alternative is a long-running summer of discontent across our rail network. Make no mistake, we are preparing for all options, including coordinated strike action which would bring trains to a halt.”
Read next:
- Met Office issues thunderstorms warning for North East on Friday
-
Boris Johnson pledges to 'carry on' instead of quitting after by-election losses
-
Google searches for ‘join union’ explode 184% as rail strike continues
-
British Airways strike at Heathrow called as passengers face summer of disruption
-
Newcastle Central Station picket lines get 'amazing public support'
