October 3, 2016 9.33 am This story is over 88 months old

Timetables unaffected: Virgin Trains East Coast staff take 24 hour strike action

Workers on Virgin Trains East Coast have begun their 24 hour strike action today. Rail Union RMT have said this is due to a threat to jobs, working conditions and safety and will take place between 12.01am and 11.59pm on Monday, October 3. Previous talks between RMT and Virgin Trains aimed to resolve a series…

Workers on Virgin Trains East Coast have begun their 24 hour strike action today.

Rail Union RMT have said this is due to a threat to jobs, working conditions and safety and will take place between 12.01am and 11.59pm on Monday, October 3.

Previous talks between RMT and Virgin Trains aimed to resolve a series of long-running issues, however this failed.

Virgin Trains have reassured customers that it will run a full timetable during the industrial action.

David Horne, Managing Director for Virgin Trains on the east coast said: “We have worked hard to ensure there are comprehensive contingency plans in place.

“I want to reassure our customers that our timetable will be unaffected during these walk-outs, as well as during any subsequent strikes by the RMT.”

RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said: “RMT will not sit back while nearly 200 members’ jobs are under threat and while conditions and safety are put at risk by a franchise which is clearly in financial trouble.

“We will also not tolerate the cavalier attitude to safety that is now on show as the company mobilises its scab army of managers.

“The company have chosen to treat the negotiations as a game up to now, merely going through the motions and playing for time. To behave like that is to treat the union and its members with pure contempt.

“Our members will not pay the price for a crisis cooked up in the Virgin/Stagecoach boardroom.”