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Passengers wait for result of Easter rail walkout ballot
Dick Murray18 Mar 2010
Rail passengers are facing Easter travel chaos as signal workers vote on a national strike.
Maintenance workers and supervisory staff at Network Rail have already voted to support the strike call, which has been made in a dispute over job losses, pay and working conditions.
Thousands more signallers, who have the power to halt the network, will tomorrow declare the result of their ballot, also expected to endorse industrial action.
Crisis talks were taking place today in a desperate effort to prevent the stoppages. Dates for 24-hour or 48-hour strikes could be announced tomorrow.
By law the unions must give seven days' notice of any strikes, so the first walkouts could take place from tomorrow week, 26 March.
Travellers could be hit with a double blow as the second half of the planned British Airways strike begins from the next day for four days. Unions say they will hold strikes over Easter if no agreement is reached.
Network Rail bosses admit they are taking the Easter strike threat “very seriously” and accused the RMT union of showing off before an election “and holding the country to ransom”.
Bob Crow, the RMT leader, condemned Network Rail plans to axe 1,500 maintenance jobs, accusing the company of putting cash savings above passenger and staff safety.
Network Rail took out full page advertisements in national newspapers today defending the cuts.
Chief executive Iain Coucher said in the advertisements: “Any strikes would be totally unjustified. They would be an attempt by the RMT to hold Britain's railway to ransom and show off before an election.”
Reader views (2)
Bob Crow and his associates must have so little regard for our democatic procedures that they are prepared to hand the conservatives a virtual walkover in the forthcoming generas election.
- W. E. Patrick Mcilroy, Redhill,Surrey, UK., 18/03/2010 20:20
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Confirmation of the annual Easter holiday rail strike is expected momentarily....
- Rogan, Irving, 18/03/2010 15:18
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