Urgent warning issued by EMR ahead of strikes
ASLEF AND RMT WORKERS SET TO TAKE INDUSTRIAL ACTION IN APRIL
RAIL travel in Derby will be doubly hit by industrial action over the coming weeks, with workers at both East Midlands Railway and CrossCountry preparing to strike.
East Midlands Railway has confirmed that industrial action next week will cause ‘significant disruption’ to its services.
Members of the train drivers’ union, Aslef, will be taking industrial action on Friday, April 5, with further delays expected in the days following.
Meanwhile, rail workers on CrossCountry are to strike the following week in a dispute over union recognition.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said around 800 of its members would walk out on Saturday, April 13.
The dispute involves workers in supervisory and clerical roles.
On Saturday, April 6, EMR will be operating an amended timetable between Liverpool Lime Street and Sheffield amid an overtime ban that could cause changes to routes.
Customers are advised to check their full journey, including first and last trains, before travelling.
Will Rogers, managing director of East Midlands Railway, said: “This approach from the ASLEF union means different parts of the network and different train operating companies are affected at different times.
“Unfortunately, this will mean customers could be impacted by a complicated period of possible delays and disruption. Unfortunately, we cannot run any services on Friday, 5 April - while our services will also be busy on either side of this day.
“Customers are advised to check our website to understand how their whole journey is affected before setting off and can expect possible disruption or late notice cancellations.”
The RMT said it had been excluded from talks on pay and policy issues.
Mick Lynch, RMT general secretary, said: “CrossCountry’s refusal to guarantee our representation of members in negotiations is a disgrace and will not be tolerated.
“Bosses cannot dictate who RMT members are represented by or be allowed to rip up long-standing agreements.
“Therefore, our whole membership in CrossCountry will take strike action on April 13 and our industrial campaign will continue until we reach a resolution.”
A CrossCountry spokesperson said: “We haven’t de-recognised any grades. We’d urge RMT representatives to rejoin us in discussions to avoid needless disruption for both colleagues and customers.”
Train companies said they will operate as many services as possible but there will be regional variations, with some areas having no services on strike days, while those that do run will start later and finish much earlier than usual – typically running between 7.30am and 6.30pm.
London Underground drivers who are members of Aslef are also set to strike for 24 hours on April 8 in a separate dispute.
A spokesperson for Rail Delivery Group said: “We are sorry that this round of strikes called by the Aslef leadership risk disrupting journeys.
“While we are doing all we can to keep trains running and we will work with our industry partners to keep as many trains running as possible, unfortunately there will be reduced services between Thursday April 4 to Tuesday April 9.
“Our advice is to check before you travel and follow the latest travel information.”