TSSA strike action in Avanti and EMR on Saturday

***STOP PRESS: This strike action was suspended following invite to talks***

Rail workers at Avanti West Coast and East Midlands Railway (EMR) who are members of TSSA rail union will take strike action on Saturday 5 November in an ongoing dispute over job security and pay. Industrial action short of strike will also be taken by TSSA members at rail operator GTR on both 5 and 6 November.

The strike action will cover the period from 00:01 to 23:59 on Saturday 5 November and follows strike action at West Midlands Trains which is taking place today (Friday 4 November), with further action being taken by TSSA members in other train operators in the coming days.

TSSA members working in a variety of roles including control functions, ticket office and station staff will not attend work, impacting services on those lines.

Services across the west coast mainline between London and Birmingham, Manchester, Crewe, Liverpool and Glasgow will be affected by strike action, as will EMR services which connect places including London, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leicester and Derby.

TSSA Organising Director Nadine Rae said: “Our members in Avanti and East Midlands Railway are seeing the real value of their wages plummet in this Tory cost of living crisis. They’ve had years of pay freezes and now bills are rocketing. This cannot be allowed to continue.

“From the beginning of this dispute, our demands have been modest and fair: job security, a decent day’s pay for a decent day’s work, and reasonable working conditions. We’re ready to negotiate any time, but the government is currently preventing Avanti and EMR from entering negotiations with unions on these matters.

“New Transport Secretary Mark Harper and the Department for Transport need to allow train operators to make a reasonable offer on pay and job security – either by coming to the table themselves or allowing the employers to negotiate freely. The string pulling and blocking negotiations that took place under Grant Shapps must stop.”