TSSA moves closer to national rail dispute

TSSA is warning of a nation-wide rail dispute as train operators and Network Rail refuse to give guarantees on job security, pay and protecting terms and conditions for rail staff.

The union, which represents a range of station, on-board, operational, control, engineering, managerial and support staff, is demanding assurances over job security, terms and conditions and inflation-matching pay rises. 

TSSA called for an industry-wide no compulsory redundancy agreement that was in place during the pandemic to be extended until at least the end of 2022, but this was rejected by industry leaders in 2021 causing TSSA to pull out of the Rail Industry Recovery Group (RIRG). 

Many rail staff have gone two years or more without a pay rise and reports of widespread ticket office closures have not been denied by government and the rail industry.

Manuel Cortes, TSSA general secretary, said: “Rail workers have kept our vital public transport services running throughout the coronavirus pandemic, yet they face uncertain job security and see wages falling behind the rising cost of living. We cannot stand by and let this happen.

“The least our railway workers deserve is a pay rise matching the cost-of-living increase and guarantees that their jobs are safe. As none of the companies are prepared to give those assurances, we find ourselves in dispute over these vital bread and butter issues.

“We’re consulting our reps across all companies on next moves. We stand ready to ballot our members for action and cannot rule out a nationwide rail strike. And make no mistake, if we ballot, we will be looking to coordinate our industrial action with sister unions and any other workers taking action against the Tories cost-of-living crisis.”

If you are a TSSA rep, look out for dates of meetings to discuss the dispute situation.