Virgin Trains East Coast workers go ahead with strike

A 24-hour strike on Virgin Trains East Coast has gone ahead today after talks failed to resolve a dispute over jobs and conditions.

Virgin has said that services will not be affected and at 8am this morning all services were running normally.  

Mick Cash, the RMT’s general secretary, said: “RMT will not sit back while nearly 200 members’ jobs are under threat and while conditions and safety are put at risk by a franchise which is clearly in financial trouble.

“We will also not tolerate the cavalier attitude to safety that is now on show as the company mobilises its scab army of managers.”

A Virgin Trains spokesman said: “We are running a full timetable on Monday and look forward to welcoming our customers on board.

“The safety of our customers is paramount and every train will be dispatched by a trained manager. We would not run a normal service if it, in any way, put our customers at risk.”

Workers on Virgin Trains East Coast had planned three 24-hour strikes for August but the industrial action was suspended after the RMT and Virgin Trains agreed to continue negotiations.