WMT members vote YES to strike action!

TSSA members at West Midlands Trains have voted 70% in favour of taking strike action, with 65% taking part in the re-ballot.

When we balloted you in late June there was a clear majority in favour of taking strike action, but we fell just short of the majority required by Tory anti-trade-union legislation – missing out by just one vote. 

Clearly this was an affront to our democracy, preventing you from taking the action the majority of you wanted, so we took the decision to re-ballot. 

The fact that more of you have voted YES to strike action shows the strength and depth of your feeling and means that we have a stronger hand in our negotiations with West Midlands Trains management.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to vote in this important ballot. It was essential you had your say to support your staff reps in future negotiations. 

This result means that you can stand together with TSSA members in Network Rail and other train operators to demand fair pay, job security and protection of our terms and conditions. It's no more than any worker deserves, and it is a real shame that we need to consider strike action to achieve basic dignity and respect.

We are liaising closely with our brothers and sisters in other rail unions RMT and Aslef and are engaging with your TSSA West Midlands Trains reps about next steps and action.

We have not served notice to West Midlands Trains of strike action or action short of a strike as yet. Your staff reps will be meeting to discuss and agree what action short of a strike will take place and when, and once this is agreed rest assured we will keep you updated on all developments and we shall write to you again to advise of the details.
 
Please speak to your TSSA reps for more information, and thank you again for taking part in this important ballot.

The full results of the ballots are outlined below.

Strike action ballot result:

Number of individuals who were entitled to vote in the ballot: 265

Number of votes cast in the ballot: 172

Votes cast in the ballot as a % of individuals who were entitled to vote: 64.9%

Question: Are you prepared to take part in industrial action consisting of a strike?
Number of spoilt or otherwise invalid voting papers returned: 0
Result of Voting:

• Yes: 121 = 70.3%
• No: 51 = 29.7%

In Solidarity, 

Matt Barrow, TSSA Organiser