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Avanti West Coast workers are to stage a series of strikes beginning on New Year’s Eve.
It comes after workers rejected a deal aimed at resolving a dispute over rest day working.
The Rail, Maritime and Transport union said its members working as train managers will strike on New Year’s Eve, 2 January and Sundays between 12 January and 25 May.
An RMT spokesperson said: “Our members have resoundingly rejected Avanti’s latest offers in two referendums and sustained strike action is now the only way to focus management’s minds on reaching a negotiated settlement with the union.”
The RMT said up to 400 of its members are involved in the dispute. They voted by 83 per cent against a suggested deal.
An update from Avanti West Coast said it was looking at how the strikes will impact services and will confirm its plans as soon as possible.
An Avanti West Coast spokesperson said: “This strike action will cause significant disruption to our customers making journeys on the West Coast Main Line over an extended period.
“We’re disappointed our train managers who are RMT members have voted to decline the very reasonable, revised offer made to them to resolve the rest day working dispute and avoid inconveniencing our customers.
“We remain open to working with the RMT to resolve the dispute.”
It comes after strikes planned for 22, 23 and 29 December were suspended last week as a suggested agreement was put to a referendum of RMT members.
Key elements of the offer voted on included, revised and enhanced Rest Day Working payments, discussions on a new technology agreement, and the creation of a Rest Day Working allocation agreement.
An update on Avanti West Coast’s website said: “In the meantime, to minimise the number of people disrupted, we’ve suspended ticket sales for these dates. We’ll share travel advice, refund information and ticket options as soon as these are finalised.”
This is a breaking news story, more follows…
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