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Passengers traveling on Avanti West Coast trains are facing disruption as staff move into a continuous row during the rest day.
Rail managers who are members of the RMT union are staging their second walkout this week, which could affect commuters on their first day back in the office after the Christmas break.
In a BBC interview, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch claimed that train companies chose to pay their own executives “exorbitant rates” to work on their days off, while those who are union members benefited. lower prices.
Avanti said it was “disappointed” by the strike and advised passengers to check the details of their last train home.
On Thursday, Avanti will run one train per hour between London Euston and Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Crewe and Manchester.
It will also operate a limited service between Glasgow and Preston, while the first and last train on its services may arrive earlier than usual.
North Wales, Blackpool and Edinburgh will not have Avanti West Coast services on Thursday.
Following industrial action planned for the new year, RMT members who are train directors at Avanti West Coast are currently planning to strike every Sunday between January 12 and May 25.
“Destructive approach”
“It is completely unacceptable that replacement managers can be paid around £500 per shift, around double what our Avanti members earn,” an RMT spokesperson said.
They claimed it was a repetitive and “destructive” approach, saying it was a reported practice that rewards managers “instead of resolving disputes”.
“At the heart of the problem is a serious shortage of staff, which explains the heavy reliance on overtime in the first place,” they added.
RMT members had initially planned to strike in the run-up to Christmas, but those plans were canceled at the last minute.
The union said a revised proposal submitted to it was rejected by 83% of the 400 members involved in the dispute, before announcing new strike dates.
Avanti said it remained willing to work with the RMT to resolve the dispute.
