Rail workers ready to strike over work and pay

Staff at Great Western Railway have backed strikes in a dispute covering flexible working arrangements, pay and pensions.

The workers involved belong to the Transport Salaried Staffs Association (TSSA) and work in areas including rostering, service delivery and performance strategy.

The union said separate votes held across different areas of the business showed strong support both for strikes and for other forms of industrial action.

No dates have yet been set for walkouts.

TSSA general secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said: "Strike action and action short of a strike, which will have a real impact on services at GWR, are now inevitable unless the company addresses these perfectly legitimate demands.

"It's in no way reasonable for our members to suffer any financial hardship for doing shift work, which in itself runs the increased risk of physical and mental impairment.

"Likewise, for clerical grades, it's simply not acceptable that they see their workloads increase without that reflecting both grading and pay.

"Our union only uses strike action as a last resort so the ball is very much in GWR's court.

“We stand ready to get back around the table and talk at any time.”

The news comes as six rail companies have become state-owned since Labour won the 2024 general election, with Chiltern Railways, which operates between London Marylebone and Birmingham becoming the latest in September.

Great Western Railway, which operates mainline services from the capital to the west of England, will be next in December.

All will come under the Great British Railways auspices from next year.