Further strike dates at West Midlands Trains and Great Western Railway

Rail union TSSA has announced further strike dates at West Midlands Trains (WMT) and Great Western Railway (GWR) in the days after Christmas.

More than 700 hundred members of the union across the two companies will walkout in the ongoing dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

*At GWR this takes place from 12 noon on Wednesday 28 December to 11.59 am on Thursday 29 December.

*At WMT this takes place from 12 noon on Wednesday 28 December to 12 noon on Thursday 29 December.

*In the case of West Midlands Trains this cancels and replaces the previously planned strike by TSSA on 17 December.

*Action short of a strike will continue as planned by the union at both train operating companies (WMT – 1 Oct to 6 January and GWR from 13 December to 8 January).

TSSA is demanding a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies, no unagreed changes to terms and conditions, and a pay increase which addresses the rising cost of living.

*Impact at WMT

TSSA members at West Midlands Trains include Control staff, Duty Train Crew Managers, Driver Managers, Senior Conductor Managers (on board staff responsible for guards), station management and duty station management, as well as HQ staff at Birmingham Edmund St working on planning, heads of dept etc.

TSSA members work out of Birmingham commuter stations, including: Birmingham New Street, Birmingham Snow Hill, Bletchley, Coventry, Kidderminster, Rugby, Northampton, Tamworth, Wolverhampton, Walsall. Control staff work from the Saltley (Birmingham) centre and Rugby.

The last time these staff had a pay rise was 2020.

*Impact at GWR

TSSA members in GWR include staff in Control, Train Planning, Ticket offices and other stations roles, Revenue Protection, Admin and Clerical grades, Driver Managers, Engineering Managers, Guards Managers, On Board Services Managers, Revenue Protection Managers and a variety of other Management grades including those in Swindon HQ.

GWR runs train services to and from London Paddington, Didcot Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Bristol Parkway, Reading, Swindon, Exeter St Davids, Exeter Central, Taunton, Gloucester, Bath, Westbury, Slough, Maidenhead, Newbury, Plymouth and Penzance.

TSSA also has GWR members at Plymouth Laira Depot (engineering managers and maintenance), St Phillips Marsh Depot, Bristol (engineering managers and maintenance), Exeter Depot (engineering managers and maintenance), Penzance Long Rock Depot and Reading Depot.

TSSA Organising Director, Nadine Rae, said: “Our members at West Midlands Trains and Great Western Railway do not want to strike, especially during the Christmas holiday period, but they are sick and tired of being taken for granted.

“They deserve a pay rise to help manage the escalating cost of living, and they rightly demand job security. Train operators under the control of the Department for Transport need to face up to the fact that only serious offers which meet our aspirations will end this dispute.

“Rail workers are seeking basic fair treatment: not to be sacked from their jobs; a fair pay rise in the face of a cost-of-living-crisis; and no race to the bottom on terms and conditions.

“To date strike action these members have taken has been highly effective and will be again, with yet more trains coming to a halt unless rail bosses and the government do the right thing for our members and our precious rail network which so many people rely on.”