Forthcoming strike action at West Midlands Trains 

Rail union TSSA has said strikes planned for later this week at West Midlands Trains (WMT) over rest day working payments are set to go ahead and will have a significant impact.  

The walkouts are a result of WMT and the Department for Transport repeatedly failing to fulfil their assurance that an improved rest day working agreement – giving TSSA members parity with other unions – would be secured.   

Roster Clerks will be on strike on Thursday 9 July 2026 at 00:01hrs until Friday 10 July 2026 at 00:01hrs.  

Duty Train Crew Managers and Control grades will not book on for duty between the hours of 12:00 noon on Friday 10 July 2026, until 12:00 noon on Saturday 11 July 2026.   

This is the second round of strikes in the dispute after similar action was taken in May this year. TSSA balloted over 100 members across these roles for the relevant industrial action.  

Commenting, TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: “These strikes will go ahead as planned because our members have not been given parity with those in other unions – a perfectly reasonable demand.   

“As things stand we face an intolerable situation. Our reps at West Midlands Trains have consulted the membership and they remain determined to proceed with their legitimate action.  

“The last round of industrial action caused a significant impact to services and the same will happen this time around. Of course, as ever our union only takes strike action as a last resort, so we hope that our demands can be met in coming days to avoid any more disruption.”   

 At WMT TSSA is the only union with collective bargaining rights for managers. It also has collective bargaining rights for clerical and station staff, and some depot staff.