Avanti
West
Coast
train
managers
are
to
stage
strikes
from
the
end
of
December
until
May
next
year,
after
83
per
cent
of
those
voting
in
an
RMT
referendum
rejected
the
operator’s
latest
offer.

Strikes
which
had
previously
been
called
for
22,
23
and
29
December
had
been
suspended
while
the
ballot
was
held.

The
dispute
is
over
rest
day
working.

The
union,
which
had
argued
that
the
current
arrangements
are
‘unacceptable’,
said
Avanti’s
latest
offer
had
included
better
pay
for
working
rest
days
and
‘more
organised
allocation’
of
rest
day
shifts.

Staff
are
now
set
to
walk
out
on
New
Year’s
Eve
and
on
2
January,
and
also
on
every
Sunday
from
12
January
to
25
May.

The
RMT
said
‘sustained’
action
was
now
‘the
only
way
to
focus
management’s
minds
on
reaching
a
negotiated
settlement’.

Avanti,
which
is
owned
by
FirstGroup
and
Trenitalia,
responded
that
its
latest
offer
had
been
‘very
reasonable’,
and
that
it
was
disappointed
that
new
walkouts
had
been
called,
because
they
would
cause
‘significant
disruption’
over
an
‘extended
period’.

It
added
that
it
was
continuing
to
work
with
the
RMT
to
resolve
the
dispute,
and
that
strike
day
timetables
were
being
prepared.