Network Rail workers vote for strike

1126AM GMT eleven Mar 2010

The brawl is over Network Rail"s plans to shift operative practices so that some-more upkeep staff worked at weekends to have repairs and upkeep some-more fit Photo PA

The Rail Maritime and Transport kinship pronounced 77 per cent of the members who took piece in the list corroborated strikes, with 89 per cent ancillary movement short of a strike.

There was a 65 per cent audience in the ballot, called in criticism at plans to cut 1,500 upkeep jobs and shift operative practices. The opinion paves the proceed for the initial inhabitant rail set upon given 1994.

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The brawl is over Network Rail"s plans to shift operative practices so that some-more upkeep staff worked at weekends to have repairs and upkeep some-more efficient. Signal workers will opinion in a apart set upon list subsequent week in a move that could dull the railway network over the Easter holidays.

RMT ubiquitous cabinet member Bob Crow pronounced ""RMT members were faced with a sheer preference in this ballot. They could possibly lay behind and wait for for these cash-led upkeep cuts to lead to an additional vital mess on Britain"s railways or they could opinion to take movement to stop the conflict on rail safety. They have overwhelmingly voted to take action.

""Nobody should be underneath any illusions about only how dynamic RMT members are to win this brawl and to stop this forward play with rail safety. Nearly 150 MPs have sealed an Early Day Motion hostile Network Rail"s cuts plans and have urged the Government to meddle to call a hindrance to this jobs destruction on the tracks.

""RMT is in no disbelief that the cuts programme drawn up by Network Rail would draw towards us behind to the dim days of Railtrack and would have an additional Hatfield, Potters Bar or Grayrigg mess an inevitability. That is what this brawl is all about and even the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has had to concur that the botched try to move by these cuts has lifted critical reserve concerns.

""RMT stays accessible for talks with Network Rail and we would goal that in light of the strenuous assign for movement delivered by the members currently that the authority will reply to the ask for suggestive discussions directed at ensuring that the staffing levels compulsory to broach a protected rail complement are maintained.""

The RMT senior manager will plead the subsequent move in the brawl subsequent Friday, Mar 19, on the same day that a set upon opinion between NR vigilance workers in the same brawl is announced.

The Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) voiced currently that 1,600 of the members, together with electrical controllers in assign of provision energy to the tracks, would opinion in the entrance weeks on either to set upon over a 0.8 per cent compensate offer.

The kinship will make known tomorrow the outcome of a list between 2,000 of the NR members, together with supervisors, in the pursuit cuts row.

TSSA personality Gerry Doherty pronounced "Network Rail is stumbling in to a brawl by the overbearing proceed to the workforce.

"Bosses are discerning to endowment themselves bonuses value hundreds of thousands of pounds each year and afterwards they spin around and ask their employees to take an in effect compensate cut with an scornful suggest well next inflation."

The dual unions will theatre a proof outward NR"s London domicile tomorrow.

NR pronounced this week it had strait plans to understanding with any strikes over Easter and confirmed that the immeasurable infancy of pursuit cuts would be completed by intentional redundancy.