Railway workers set for ballot for further strike action

More railway workers are set to be balloted for strikes following action from RMT members this week.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) has served notice to ballot its members for the 29th June at Network Rail, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, West Midlands Trains, Avanti West Coast, Northern, LNER, C2C, Great Western Railway (GWR) and TransPennine Express.

It’s asking for a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies this year, no un-agreed changes to terms and conditions and a pay increase that is in line with the cost of living.

TSSA members are found in a number of roles, including station staff and managers, conductors, driver managers, train crew managers and platform team leaders.

The union’s general secretary Manuel Cortes said: “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.

“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”.