New dispute threatens trains chaos

TRAIN passengers face the threat of further chaos after the biggest rail union said it would ballot its members for strikes in a row over jobs and working conditions.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union at Virgin East Coast will start voting next week on whether to launch a campaign of action.

The union said the dispute has been brewing for months, accusing the company of trying to ‘bulldoze through’ cost-cutting measures which would ‘decimate’ jobs. The ballot result is due on August 9. RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: ‘Long-standing agreements... dictate that the company must negotiate with RMT, as a recognised trade union to those agreements, yet the company say these changes are a consultative process. That is simply not true. Any changes to staff terms and conditions are negotiable matters.’

A Virgin Trains spokesman said: ‘We are puzzled by the RMT’s decision to ballot as we have ruled out compulsory redundancies... we have contingency plans which mean we expect to run a full timetable with customers travelling as normal. We would welcome the RMT reopening discussions.’

The union is also embroiled in an industrial dispute with ScotRail, which has led to strikes over driver-only trains.

Members backed strikes in June, sparking days of industrial unrest, including action last weekend. Further 24-hour strikes tomorrow and on Sunday, July 31, are now planned after the failure of talks through the conciliation service Acas.