Rail workers across the UK are set to stage another three days of strikes, after they rejected what their union has described as a "paltry" new offer from Network Rail. The stoppages - which are planned for July 16, 27 and 20 - will affect North East travellers, although the exact details have not been released yet.
The strikes, which threaten chaos right at the start of the school summer holidays, come after members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) at train companies and Network Rail rejected an offer of a four per cent pay rise backdated to January, a further two per cent next year, and two per cent extra conditional on achieving 'modernisation milestones' was made. The RMT is seeking an offer or guarantee over job losses from train operating companies.
Last month's three strikes crippled services across the region, and travellers are worried about further rail action, with providers who run services through key regional stations in Durham and Newcastle such as LNER, CrossCountry and Transpennine all potentially participating. The Tyne and Wear Metro Service was also affected by the strikes last month.
