A TRANSPORT union could capitalise on the momentum of the biggest rail strike in 30 years by staging of its own walkout, bringing trains to a halt in Essex.
TSSA, which has thousands of members across the country, could instruct its Greater Anglia workers to strike next month unless demands are met.
The train operator runs services across Essex, meaning trains throughout the county would likely be severely disrupted, should a strike take place.
Similar to the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, bosses at TSSA are asking for a guarantee of no compulsory redundancies.
They also want a pay increase for their workers to reflect the rising cost of living and no unagreed changes to be made to the terms and conditions of their contracts.
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The strike has now been proposed to the union’s Greater Anglia members who will have between June 29 and July 13 to decide if they would want to down tools or not.
Should the decision to strike be upheld, and the union’s demands are not met, everyone from rail workers to conductors could man picket lines on July 27.
Manuel Cortes, TSSA general secretary, said: “Our members at Greater Anglia are seeking basic fair treatment in the teeth of a crippling cost of living crisis.
“Rail workers were hailed as heroes in the pandemic and now they deserve a real terms pay rise which keeps pace with inflation, rather than shouldering the burden of the Tories’ economic meltdown.
“Our demands are simple – pay which reflects the times we live in, a deal which delivers job security, and no race to the bottom on terms and conditions.
“It’s time the Government changed course. Instead of making cuts across our railway the Department for Transport should either give Greater Anglia and other companies the signal to make us a reasonable offer, or ministers should come to the negotiating table and speak to us directly.
“The alternative is a long-running summer of discontent across our rail network.
“Make no mistake, we are preparing for all options, including coordinated strike action which would bring trains to a halt.”
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