Rail fears as city station managers strike

Published on Wednesday 18 June 2008 14:19

TRAINS in Edinburgh face disruption next week when station managers go on strike.

More than 100 key managers and supervisors at 17 major UK stations, including in Edinburgh, will go on 24 hour strike next Thursday, June 26.

The walkout lasts from noon on Thursday to noon on Friday and will also affect stations in Glasgow and throughout England.

But Network Rail says contingency plans are in place and passengers will not be affected.

The strike has been called by the Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) in a long-running dispute over harmonising pay and conditions for staff at Network Rail's largest stations.

It follows a 68 per cent vote in favour of strike action over Network Rail's refusal to give a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies during the reorganisation.

Manuel Cortes, assistant general secretary, said Network Rail was refusing to talk to the union despite the size of the vote in favour of industrial action.

"The vote clearly demonstrates the anger of our members on this issue but Network Rail is refusing to sit down and talk to our reps about our genuine concerns.

"We clearly understand this may well cause disruption to the travelling public but the company has time to resolve this issue."

A Network Rail spokesman said: "Network Rail is proposing a new organisation structure for the stations we manage to make them more effective and more passenger-focussed.

"Strike action is wholly unnecessary as progress was being made. Rail users should be reassured that full contingency plans are already in place and all essential roles can be covered during this one-day strike resulting in zero impact on passengers and train services."