Train
operators
in
England


are
warning
of
limited
services
on
26
August
and
2
September
as
the
RMT
stages
two
more
24-hour
strikes
in
the
dispute
over
pay
and
conditions,
but
there
will
also
be
disruption
on
CrossCountry
routes
tomorrow
and
on
9
September
in
a
separate
dispute
over
the
duties
of
CrossCountry
staff
at
Edinburgh.

Although
Edinburgh
station
is
managed
by
Network
Rail,
CrossCountry
staff
have
been
dispatching
trains,
but
the
operator
wants
to
abandon
dispatching
on
the
grounds
that
this
‘does
not
meet
their
business
model’,
according
to
the
RMT.

The
union
says
its
members
are
set
to
be
paid
less
as
a
result,
after
CrossCountry
withdrew
a
financial
offer.

The
two
24-hour
strikes
tomorrow
and
on
9
September
are
set
to
disrupt
CrossCountry
services
nationally,
and
not
just
those
which
call
at
Edinburgh.

RMT
general
secretary
Mick
Lynch
said:
‘CrossCountry
have
not
been
serious
in
trying
to
resolve
this
dispute
and
have
put
their
energies
into
attempting
to
discredit
their
own
staff.

‘We
will
not
accept
attacks
on
our
members’
jobs,
conditions
or
allow
them
to
be
made
poorer.

‘In
our
union,
if
you
attack
one
member
of
staff,
you
are
attacking
the
whole
workforce
and
that
is
unacceptable.’

CrossCountry
responded:
‘Throughout
this
process,
we
have
sought
to
work
with
the
union
to
provide
all
ten
Edinburgh
employees
with
the
best
employment
options
for
them.

‘Should
the
action
go
ahead,
a
local
issue
impacting
ten
CrossCountry
colleagues
will
lead
to
hundreds
of
colleagues
losing
out
on
yet
more
pay
as
well
as
disrupting
thousands
of
passengers
who
are
keen
to
enjoy
their
summer.’

With
two
national
24-hour
strikes
in
England
also
imminent,
the
Rail
Delivery
Group
added:
‘While
the
industry
is
working
hard
to
keep
as
many
services
running
as
possible,
the
strikes
called
by
the
RMT
leadership
are
designed
to
deliberately
target
passengers
who
want
to
enjoy
various
sporting
events,
festivals,
and
the
end
of
the
summer
holidays,
disrupting
their
plans,
hurting
local
economies
and
forcing
more
cars
on
to
the
road.
This,
despite
having
repeatedly
refused
its
membership
a
vote
on
an
offer
of
up
to
13
per
cent
for
the
lowest
paid
over
two
years,
which
could
settle
this
dispute.

‘We
hope
that
RMT
will
call
off
these
unnecessary
strikes
so
that
we
can
continue
discussions
and
avoid
further
disruption
for
our
passengers.’