The planned strike on Avanti West Coast train services has been suspended for the remainder of January.
The canceled strike dates are Sunday January 19 and Sunday January 26 in order to allow for intensive negotiations following Avanti’s recent representations to the RMT union.
RMT members who are train managers at Avanti West Coast still plan to strike every Sunday from February 2 to May 25, unless an agreement is reached.
“This suspension reflects our goodwill and commitment to finding a solution to this industrial dispute during rest days,” said an RMT spokesperson.
“We respond to Avanti’s overtures and hope that significant progress towards a negotiated settlement can be made during these talks,” the spokesperson added.
RMT members had initially planned to strike in the run-up to Christmas 2024, but those plans were canceled at the last minute.
Before Christmas, the union said a revised proposal submitted to it had been rejected by 83% of the 400 members involved in the dispute, before announcing new strike dates.
In a previous interview with the BBC, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch claimed that train companies chose to pay their own managers “exorbitant rates” to work on their days off.
He said those who are unionized receive lower wages.
Avanti has previously said it was “disappointed” by the strikes and advised its customers to travel “either side of the strike dates or request a full refund”.
He also warned that reducing timetables on strike days could lead to high ridership on trains.
