CrossCountry rail workers to strike this weekend

FRESH strikes have been announced on the most extensive passenger rail franchise in Britain in a dispute over rostering and Sunday working.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union on CrossCountry will strike for 48 hours today and tomorrow, disrupting services on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

The union announced fresh 24-hour strikes on December 23 and 27, in addition to previously announced walkouts on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

CrossCountry said its train services, which stretch from Aberdeen to Penzance, Manchester to Bournemouth and Stansted to Cardiff, will be “significantly” affected this weekend.

RMT general secretary Mick Cash said: “It is disgraceful that the management effectively sabotaged talks this week that were making progress towards a settlement to this dispute.

“It is the company’s ineptitude and arrogance that means the action goes ahead as planned and that is wholly down to CrossCountry’s top managers.

“If the company spent more time working with us for a solution instead of focusing on dishing out cash bungs to a dangerous scab army of under-cooked management recruits to try and break the action we could move this dispute forwards.

“Our members are standing up for the principles of a decent worklife balance and against the abuse of rostering and Sunday working by a management that is out of control.”

The company said it planned to operate a reduced service, but using longer trains where possible.