The Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) has announced workers at nine UK railway firms have voted in favour of going on strike. The action is scheduled to start midday on Monday, September 26 and last until midday on Tuesday, September 27.
It comes following a dispute over pay, job security and conditions. Train companies where workers voted for industrial action in a ballot in July include: Avanti West Coast station grades, c2c, East Midlands Railway, CrossCountry, Great Western Railway, LNER, Southeastern, West Midlands Trains, Northern, Greater Anglia and TransPennine Express.
An update shared by the TSSA today (August 31) said nine companies and Network Rail staff would be participating in the industrial action next month, with commuters being warned of more travel misery and disruption to come this summer, the Mirror reports.
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The strike action will coincide with the Labour Party Conference, being held in Liverpool. As a Labour affiliated union TSSA will be looking for support from Conference delegates and MPs to join them on the picket line to show solidarity in fighting the Conservative’s cost of living crisis.
The union said it remained in talks with Network Rail about the possibility of a settlement - but not unless the Government improved on its "insulting" offer of a two per cent rise.
TSSA union leader Manuel Cortes said: “The dead hand of Grant Shapps is sadly stopping DfT train operating companies from making a revised, meaningful offer.
“Frankly, he either sits across the negotiating table with our union or gets out of the way to allow railway bosses to freely negotiate with us, as they have done in the past.
“The reason for the current impasse lies squarely at Shapps’ door and passengers are paying a high price for his incompetence and intransigence.
"I welcome the fact that negotiations are ongoing with Network Rail and the gap towards a resolution is narrowing. Time will tell whether a deal can be done to avert our next strike.
"I will be standing on our picket line in Liverpool and will be encouraging fellow delegates and Labour MPs to do likewise, so they can rightly show they stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those fighting the Tories’ cost of living crisis."
Members of the union at Transpennine Express had voted overwhelmingly in favour of strike action with 72 per cent returning a YES vote in a second ballot last week. The union slammed the Tory government for holding back industrial action in June when another ballot missed the threshold by one vote.
In a memo to members, posted to the TSSA website on August 25, the union said: "TSSA members at TransPennine Express have voted 72 per cent in favour of taking strike action, with 66 per cent taking part in the re-ballot.
"When we balloted you in late June there was a clear majority in favour of taking strike action, but we fell just short of the majority required by Tory anti-trade-union legislation – missing out by just one vote.
"Clearly this was an affront to our democracy, preventing you from taking the action the majority of you wanted, so we took the decision to re-ballot.
"The fact that more of you have voted YES to strike action shows the strength and depth of your feeling and means that we have a stronger hand in our negotiations with TransPennine Express management. Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote in this important ballot. It was essential you had your say to support your staff reps in future negotiations.
"This result means that you can stand together with TSSA members in Network Rail and other train operators to demand fair pay, job security and protection of our terms and conditions.
"It's no more than any worker deserves, and it is a real shame that we need to consider strike action to achieve basic dignity and respect. We are liaising closely with our brothers and sisters in other rail unions RMT and Aslef and are engaging with your TSSA TransPennine Express reps about next steps and action."
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