Workers at Great Western Railway (GWR) have voted to strike in a dispute over flexible working arrangements, pay and pensions.
Union members back industrial action
Members of the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) working in areas including rostering, service delivery and performance strategy are involved in the row.
Separate votes in different areas of the business showed strong support for strikes and other forms of industrial action, the union said. No dates for strikes have yet been set.
Union warns of inevitable disruption
TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said strike action and action short of a strike, which will have a real impact on services at GWR, are now inevitable unless the company addresses the union's demands.
She said it is not reasonable for members to suffer financial hardship for doing shift work, which in itself runs the increased risk of physical and mental impairment. For clerical grades, she said it is not acceptable that workloads increase without that reflecting both grading and pay.
Eslamdoust added that the union only uses strike action as a last resort, saying the ball is very much in GWR's court, and that the union stands ready to return to the table and talk at any time.
