Now there’s going to be a strike on Virgin trains – but Virgin has promised a “normal timetable”
Virgin Trains has promised to run a "normal timetable" during three 24-hour strikes which were confirmed by the RMT union today.
In a statement today, RMT said the three 24-hour strikes on Virgin East Coast, which were announced on Tuesday, will take place on Friday 19 August, Friday 26 August and Monday 29 August, threatening to disrupt Bank Holiday getaway plans.
RMT will also stage industrial action "short of strike by not working any overtime" on Saturday 27 August.
However, Virgin Trains said it had made contingency plans which meant it can run a normal service.
“We have worked hard to ensure there are comprehensive contingency plans in place and 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," said managing director David Horne.
Earlier today the RMT union said: "The ongoing dispute came to a head as the company chose to ignore the agreed negotiating machinery and subjected staff to a barrage of direct propaganda justifying their attempts to bulldoze through a package of cash-led measure that would decimate jobs, working conditions and threaten the safety regime that currently ensures a guard on every train.
"Nearly 200 jobs across the franchise are threatened by the cuts."
But Virgin insisted changes it is making will mean "no compulsory redundancies [and] no impact on safety".
"These strikes will cost RMT members pay for no reason," said Horne.
Lest we forget, RMT is the union behind the Eurostar strike currently taking place (with limited effect on services).
Then there's the much-maligned five-day Southern strike, which took place earlier this week. Although it was called off after three days on Wednesday, it was panning out to be the longest strike on the railways since the 1960s.
Virgin East Coast has not responded to requests for comment.