TSSA plans Boxing Day strike at CrossCountry

Rail union TSSA has notified CrossCountry that it will take strike action at the train operating company on Boxing Day and 27 December as part of the ongoing national dispute over pay, job security and conditions. 

Union members will walkout in a 24-hour stoppage from 9pm on Boxing Day until 9pm on 27 December. 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. 

The union believes that walkouts by staff will severely impact services at CrossCountry which covers large swathes of the country, from Penzance, to the Midlands, Wales, Northern England through to Scottish cities as far north as Aberdeen. 

*This action replaces the strike action at CrossCountry by TSSA on 17 December, action which has now been cancelled. Action short of a strike slated for 16 and 17 December remains in place. 

Impact at Cross Country 

TSSA members in Cross Country carry out a variety of essential roles, including Customer Service Managers (CSM), Driver Managers (DTM), Trainers, Control, Customer Communications, Safety, Timetabling and Planning.  

Managers are based at main rail stations on Cross Country routes, including: Edinburgh, Newcastle, Birmingham, Manchester, Bristol, Bournemouth, Plymouth. Other staff are based at Cannon House in Birmingham and the Lampblock alongside Birmingham New Street station. 

Action by CSM, DTM and Control could take out all CrossCountry services. Customer Service Managers manage conductors and would be involved in contingency cover. The last time these staff had a pay rise was 2019. 

 TSSA  Organising Director, Nadine Rae. said: “Our members at CrossCountry do not want to strike, especially over 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. The company, like all the 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. 

“Make no mistake we will again see 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.” 

TSSA action partly overlaps with action by the RMT and continues into 27 December as TSSA-only strike action.