‘Summer of discontent’ looms as THIRD rail union threatens to strike and plunge country into travel mayhem
The country has been plunged into further travel mayhem with rail drivers union TSSA set to join the train alongside RMT and Aslef.
The organisation served notice to ballot hundreds of staff for strike action at Avanti West Coast, over pay, conditions and job security.
Transport and Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) General Secretary Manuel Cortes said the country “could be seeing a Summer of discontent across our railways”, as his union’s move follows strike announcements by Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef) and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) , later this month.
The walkout would contribute to bringing much of the country, and especially London to a grinding halt, with 40,000 members of the RMT to strike on 21, 23 and 25 June, as well as Aslef.
TSSA has bargaining rights for all station and revenue protection staff on the west coast network, as well as for managers on more than £35,000. It is demanding no compulsory redundancies, un-agreed changes to workers’ terms and a pay increase to meet rising inflation and the cost of living crisis in 2022.
Cortes said: “Avanti West Coast needs to come to the table to face the concerns of their staff and tell their paymasters in government that widespread rail disruption is on the cards.
“Avanti West Coast staff are asking for some basic fair treatment”.
“We could be seeing a Summer of discontent across our railways. Make no mistake, we are preparing for all options, including coordinated strike action.”
“With data showing that retail sales are falling” and the cost of living crisis continues to bite, he added that “unless wages start keeping pace with inflation” then a “recession looms large.”
Avanti operates passenger train services and stations including from London Euston to Birmingham, Crewe, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow.
In addition to possible industrial action from bus drivers, Unite and GMB members working at Heathrow are also voting on strike action, while 115,000 members of the Communications and Workers Union at Royal Mail and 40,000 at BT will begin voting on 15 June, according to the Times.
Unions have been urged to get round the table to avert the strike with the Labour Party reacting to the Aslef action announced yesterday, saying: We’ve been clear in the position that the strikes shouldn’t go ahead,”
“Nobody wants to see industrial action that is disruptive.”